For your enjoyment…

Are you like me on weekends or special holidays or when you have guests? On those occasions I like to cook something very special, not the usual fare. Then I’m either spoilt for choice or nothing occurs to me. If even the most intensive search on the internet comes to nothing, or leafing through piles of cookbooks fails to offer a solution, try out our Recipe of the Month! 

From chefs of the Schick restaurants in Vienna, every month there will be a new, seasonal recipe from Austrian-Spanish or Viennese cuisine for you to cook and enjoy at home!

In March 2012 – recipe by Johannes Reiser – Chef at the decorated Restaurant “Das Schick”:

Crispy scallop in peanut coating
on Arroz Negro and Salsa Xato

Ingredients for 4 servings (as an appetizer):

4 equally large scallops
100 g ground peanuts
lemon juice, salt, pepper, olive oil

Salsa Xato:
1/2 l olive oil
70 g peeled, roasted almonds
70 g roasted hazelnuts
2 cloves garlic
3 shallots
2 tomatoes
4 small, dried, red bell peppers
3 slices white bread, crusts removed
Vinagre Moscatel, salt, pepper

Arroz Negro:
150 g paella rice (risotto, round-grain or Ebro rice)
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
100 g cleaned, small squid (calamaretti), finely diced
calamari ink
0.3 l fish stock
1/8 l white wine
sea salt, pepper, olive oil
pinch of cinnamon (to taste)
tomatoes and colored bell peppers, diced

Preparation:

Salsa Xato: Finely chop shallots, tomatoes, dried bell peppers and white bread, then puree all ingredients together with the olive oil using a hand (immersion) blender – the sauce should have a thick, creamy consistency. Season with salt, pepper and Vinagre Moscatel.

Arroz Negro: Wash rice and allow to drain. Finely chop shallots and garlic and sweat with the calamaretti in some olive oil. Add rice and season. Pour fish stock and white wine into the mixture, add calamari ink to taste and allow everything to simmer slowly. Toss diced tomatoes and bell peppers separately in a bit of olive oil and mix into the finished rice. Season with a bit of cinnamon to taste.

Scallops: Wash, dry on a paper towel. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice and turn into the ground peanuts. Fry each side in olive oil for approx. 2 – 3 minutes.

Serve in an attractively presented manner – such as in our photo – and enjoy…

We wish you much success!