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Sea Scallops With Celery Root and Meyer Lemon Salad

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Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott

Pick a small to medium celery root and peel off its hide with a sharp knife. Inside you'll find ivory-green flesh that's crisp, a bit nutty, and utterly delicious in salads. This take on a classic remoulade provides perfect contrast to the silken luxury of seared scallops.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

2 Meyer lemons, plus more for garnish, or 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon capers, soaked and drained if packed in salt, rinsed if packed in vinegar, chopped
Fine sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
12 large dry-pack sea scallops
1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
6 cups finely julienned peeled celery root (from about 1 softball-size celery root)
¼ cup parsley leaves with tender stems
Flaky sea salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Supreme lemons, reserving peel. Chop lemon flesh and transfer to a small bowl. Very finely chop peel until you have about 1 Tbsp.; add to bowl with chopped lemon. Juice remaining lemon and add 2 Tbsp. to lemon mixture, along with mustard, oil, and capers. (If you're working with a conventional lemon, stir in zest and juice here.) Season mixture with fine sea salt and pepper and more lemon juice, if needed.

    Step 2

    Season scallops with fine sea salt and pepper. Heat neutral oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high. Pat scallops dry and sear in pan, spacing scallops 1" apart (you may need to work in batches). Cook, undisturbed, until underside is caramel brown, about 1 minute. Turn scallops and cook until warmed through but still a bit translucent in the center, about 1 minute.

    Step 3

    Toss celery root, parsley, and lemon mixture in a medium bowl. Season with fine sea salt and pepper, if desired. Serve salad with scallops; sprinkle with flaky sea salt and garnish with lemon wedges.

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