Coquilles St. Jacques · Lovage Foam

Pan-seared scallops on butter-toasted sourdough, with warm lovage foam siphoned over the plate. Three elements: classical sear, modernist foam, textural crunch. Serves 2 as a light main, 4 as a generous starter.

The scallops

• 8 large scallops (coquilles St. Jacques), roe removed, patted bone-dry with paper towel
• 80 g good unsalted butter (Président), divided 30 + 30 + 20 g
• Flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

The toast (the crunch)

• 4 small sourdough rounds, about 5 cm diameter, or 4 squares from good sourdough
• Melted butter for brushing (reuse browned butter from the sear if you like)

The lovage foam

• 150 ml lactose-free milk (or regular whole milk), cold
• 45 g frozen lovage oil cubes (see make-ahead below), 3 to 4 cubes
• 0.75 g xanthan gum (a scant pinch, roughly 1/6 tsp)
• Fine salt

Equipment: 500 ml cream siphon (iSi Gourmet or equivalent), one N₂O charger, immersion blender.

Lovage oil cubes (make ahead, keeps months)

• 60 g fresh lovage leaves, stems removed
• 150 ml good extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Blanch the leaves 15 seconds in boiling water, refresh in ice water, squeeze dry. Blend with olive oil and salt in a high-speed blender for 2 minutes until deep green. Strain through fine sieve or cheesecloth if you want a smooth oil. Pour into ice cube trays, freeze solid, decant to a freezer bag.

Method

The foam (xanthan hydrates in cold, always)

1. Add the xanthan gum to the cold milk with a pinch of salt. Blend with an immersion blender for a full minute until fully hydrated and smooth. This is the critical step: xanthan clumps instantly if added to warm liquid, and no amount of blending will fully undo those gel-lumps.

2. Now add the lovage oil cubes to the hydrated milk and warm the whole mixture gently over low heat to about 50°C only, not simmering. Aromatics escape at higher temperatures.

3. Pour directly into the siphon; no straining needed if the xanthan is properly hydrated. Seal, charge with one N₂O cartridge, shake 8 to 10 times vigorously. Rest the siphon in a bowl of warm (55°C) water while everything else happens. The foam must stay warm.

The toast (can be done first, holds for 30 min)

4. Preheat oven to 200°C fan. Brush both sides of each sourdough round with melted butter, arrange on a baking sheet. Toast for 4 to 5 minutes until deep golden and shatter-crisp. Set aside on a rack.

The sear (in two batches, do not crowd)

5. Season the scallops with salt and pepper right before searing, never earlier, or they release water and steam instead of caramelising.

6. Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron or stainless) on the highest flame until it faintly smokes. Add 30 g butter; when it foams and begins to brown, lay in the first 4 scallops with clear space between them.

7. Sear undisturbed 60 to 90 seconds until a deep golden crust forms on the underside. Flip once, baste with the foaming butter 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer to a warm plate. Reserve any brown butter for brushing the toast (or use for the next batch).

8. Wipe the pan of burnt milk solids, add the second 30 g butter, and repeat exactly for the remaining 4 scallops.

9. Off the heat, drop in the final 20 g cold butter and swirl the pan into a glossy monter-au-beurre. Spoon this over all 8 scallops as the finish; this is what gives them their sheen.

The plate

10. Place 2 toast rounds per plate. Arrange the scallops seared side up, one on each toast.

11. Shake the siphon briefly upside down, then dispense generous clouds of warm green foam around and over the scallops. The foam should touch the toast in places; when it collapses over the next minute, the toast absorbs the aromatic emulsion.

12. Finish with flaky sea salt and a twist of black pepper. Serve at once.

Three elements, one plate

The crunch. Toasted sourdough beneath the scallop is the textural anchor that prevents the plate from being soft-on-soft. Without this the dish tips into modernist monotony (velvety scallop, airy foam, both weightless in the mouth); with it the classical and the modernist have a base to sit on. The toast also absorbs the collapsing foam and the brown butter, becoming its own bite by the end.

The sear. Classical French. Bone-dry scallops, screaming hot pan, foaming butter, single flip. Crowding turns sear into steam and kills the crust; the two-batch discipline is not optional. Wet scallops or a cold pan produce grey rubber, never gold. The final monter-au-beurre off the heat is what gives them their gloss.

The foam. Modernist. Xanthan gum stabilises the emulsion so the N₂O aeration holds instead of collapsing prematurely; hydrated in cold milk first, then warmed, never the other way around. The warm-water bath keeps the siphon at serving temperature. Serve within a minute of dispensing.