Velouté de chou vert, St Jacques au sésame et thym

Summer is gone already but I have a hard time switching my mood for fall…I love summer and its long day light, its products and the vacation spirit. Fall has its own character like every other season but I am not looking forward to winter. I don’t know why but I have not been in the soup mood for a long time nor have I been in the mood for seafood. I guess it all goes by phases. In my case, the less I eat something, the less I want to eat it.

I thought a kale soup would be the perfect dish to celebrate fall, it’s such a wonderful ingredient and so versatile, it can be prepared in so many different ways. This recipe combines two lovely ingredients, lacinato kale (or cavolo nero in Italian) and sea scallops. It might be the new trend to eat kale in the US, but in Europe it’s been consumed for ages. Usually trends don’t last, they come and go, so I hope kale is here to stay on the shelves.

For the next two weeks, I will be experimenting new recipes like this one, so I am quite excited to get extra time to play in the kitchen. You can also serve this soup in small glasses as a little appetizer.

Ingredients for 2

For the soup

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 leek chopped
  • 1 small yam, peeled and cubed
  • 2 bunches kale, stems removed and chopped
  • vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper

For the sea scallops (3 each)

  • 6 scallops
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • dried thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil for drizzling

Preparation

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, leeks and yams. Let it cook stiring for about 10 minutes until fragrant. Add kale and cover with broth. Just a bit below kale level. Cook for about 25 minutes until tender. Adjust with salt and pepper. Blend with a hand blender or mixer. If it’s too thick add water or broth.

Mix sesame seeds and thyme together. Coat the scallops on both sides (you can also dip scallops in egg whites before) and using a grill pan, grill on both sides until cooked (two to three minutes per side approximately). Adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve scallops on soup, drizzle with olive oil and extra sesame seeds.