Recipe below: Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Purée and Scallops
Sometimes I wonder why I spend so much money on seasonal produce. Then I taste a sweet red pepper in mid-September and I remember. Yes, it makes a difference. Tomatoes are the most obvious vegetables that taste far, far better in season, but so do cucumbers, especially when you buy one that’s never been refrigerated. Sweet peppers are another thing you might not immediately think of, since the winter ones always look so full-on red and inviting. That is, until you taste one. No comparison.
I always look for a sweet pepper variety called Giant Marconi. It is dense and deep red. You can feel its heft in your hands. It roasts beautifully, since its flesh is thick and it doesn’t tear easily, which can be a problem with red bell peppers. If you can find it, try it out in this recipe, or just to make the best peperonata you’ll have ever tasted. But if you can’t find it, red bell peppers are also amazing this time of year, with none of that what I’d call winter gasoline taste. (Does anyone else notice this? It’s a sharp, acrid note that can override their sweetness.) In New York, we’ve still got a few more weeks of the seasonal ones piled up in shiny red heaps at farm stands. I’ve got to get some more before they’re gone. I’m looking forward to making braised chicken with roasted red peppers. My mother called it cacciatore, but it’s essentially the same a Basque chicken. Whatever you call it, it’s a great seasonal dish.
Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Purée and Scallops
6 sweet red peppers
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, cut into small dice
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
5 or 6 long thyme sprigs, the leaves chopped
Salt
A few big scrapings of nutmeg
A big splash of vermouth
About 1 cup vegetable broth
½ cup crème fraîche
1 pound fettuccine
12 large sea scallops
Black pepper
The grated zest from a large lemon
2 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
A handful of basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
To make the sauce, you’ll want to start by roasting your peppers. I used Giant Marconi, which are dense and rich tasting, but red bell peppers will work fine in their place. I like to roast them on a charcoal grill, but a broiler or gas flame does a fine job. Just blacken them all over and then peel and seed them and give them a rough chop. (I do not recommend using jarred roasted peppers here. Their taste is always somewhat acidic, and that can spoil this suave sauce.)
Get out a large sauté pan, and set it over medium heat. Add a big drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and half of the butter. Add the chopped shallot and the garlic clove, and let them soften for a moment. Add the roasted peppers, a little chopped fresh thyme, some salt, and a big pinch of nutmeg, and let them cook until the peppers are fragrant and tender, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add a splash of dry vermouth and let it bubble out. Add a splash of vegetable broth or water to loosen all the stuck little bits.
Take out the garlic, and then purée the peppers in a food processor, adding a little more water or vegetable broth to thin out the purée (it should be thick but smooth and pourable). Return the purée to the pan, and add the crème fraîche. Let it warm through. Taste for seasoning.
Set up a pot of pasta cooking water and bring it to a boil. Add salt. Drop in the fettuccine.
Season the scallops with salt, black pepper, and the lemon zest.
Get out a big sauté pan, and set it over high heat. Add the rest of the butter. When the scallops are hot, add them. Let them brown without moving them, about a minute or so. When they’re well browned, turn them over, shut off the heat, and let them sit in the pan. The residual heat will be enough to finish cooking them.
Drain the fettuccine, saving about a cup of the cooking water, and pour it into a large, wide serving bowl. Add the pepper purée and the Parmigiano, and toss, adding more vegetable broth or cooking water to loosen the sauce, if needed. Add the basil, leaving a little for garnish, and toss again.
Plate each serving of pasta. Top each one with three scallops, and garnish with the remaining basil.
Erica De Mane 
Leave a Reply