Ruhlman's Twenty (37 page)

Because the breast is so lean, I like to serve it with a simple butter sauce flavored with fresh herbs, shallot, and wine. It couldn’t be easier, but if you’re serving company, or simply feel like putting on airs in the middle of the week, call it a
beurre blanc,
which it is.

4 skin-on boneless chicken breasts or 4 skin-on boneless breasts with the wing joint attached

Kosher salt

Canola or other vegetable oil

Simple Butter Sauce
, made with tarragon

At least a half hour before you intend to cook the chicken breasts, remove them from the refrigerator. Rinse the breasts, pat dry, and give them a liberal salting on both sides. Set them on a plate lined with paper towels/absorbent paper and allow them to come to room temperature.

Put a baking sheet/tray in the oven and preheat to 200°F/95°C/gas ¼. The cooked chicken can be kept warm in the oven while you make the sauce using the pan in which the chicken is sautéed. Or you can make the sauce ahead in a separate pan, and keep it on the stove top until you’re ready to reheat and serve it.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for several minutes until it’s hot. Check the heat level by holding your hand above the surface. While the pan is heating, pat the chicken breasts dry. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. A depth of 3/16 inch/5 millimeters is ideal, but gauge the depth by eye. It is better to err on the side of too much oil. You’re not eating the oil, just cooking in it. When the oil is hot, showing visible convection currents, lay each chicken breast skin-side down in the oil. Don’t move them, but let them cook and brown. After they’ve cooked for a minute, you can lift them to be sure they’re not sticking and that all the skin has been in contact with the oil. After a couple of minutes, once the skin is golden brown, reduce the heat to medium. Turn the chicken breasts when they’ve cooked halfway through, about 4 minutes if they’ve tempered completely. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. The breasts will need 10 to 12 minutes total if the wing joints are attached. Remove the breasts to the baking sheet/tray in the oven.

Pour off any excess fat in the sauté pan and make the butter sauce as directed. Serve it spooned over the sautéed chicken.

I first saw a variation of this recipe at The French Laundry where the
poissonnier
at the time, Grant Achatz, put it over the top with truffles and asparagus tied in a cute little bundle with a chive, additional chlorophyll keeping the sauce intensely green. And it was fabulous, but the main reason it was so good was that scallops and asparagus are an unparalleled pair on every level: contrasting colors and textures, and a wonderful mix of flavors.

The main critical points are to cook and shock the asparagus properly and to get a good colorful crust on the scallops. The hardest part is finding good scallops. Try to find a good fishmonger who can offer large dry-packed scallops in the fall and winter when they are primarily harvested. The larger they are, the better the dish will be, and the easier it will be to prepare.

1½ pounds/680 grams asparagus, boiled and shocked

1½ pounds/680 grams scallops

¾ cup/170 grams butter, cut into 3 equal pieces

Fine sea salt

Canola oil

Kosher salt

About 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Finely chopped lemon zest for garnish

Remove the tips from the asparagus and reserve for garnish. Cut the stalks into pieces and purée in a blender until completely smooth. You may need to add a little water, ¼ cup/60 millileters or so, to ensure they’re completely puréed. You can also use a food processor; if you do, pass the purée through a basket strainer to remove any long fibers. The asparagus can be prepared up to 24 hours before serving and stored in the refrigerator.

Remove the scallops from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and place them on a plate lined with paper towels/absorbent paper. They usually have a little nib of connective tissue on their side; remove and discard this.

Just before cooking the scallops, put the puréed asparagus in a saucepan over low heat. Put the asparagus tips and 1 piece of the butter in a sauté pan over low heat.

Season the scallops on both sides with fine sea salt. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. It needs to be large enough that the scallops aren’t crowded, or you won’t get a good sear, one of the pleasures of this dish. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. A depth of 3/16 inch/5 millimeters is ideal, but gauge the depth by eye. It is better to err on the side of too much oil. You’re not eating the oil, just cooking in it. When it’s very hot, just before it smokes, add the scallops and cook until they are beautifully seared, about 2 minutes. Turn and continue cooking just until the scallops are warm in the middle and medium-rare, about 2 minutes more. With scallops, it’s better to err by undercooking them; raw scallops are delicious, but overcooked scallops are rubbery. Remove the scallops to paper towels/absorbent paper to drain.

While the scallops are cooking, raise the heat on both pans with asparagus to medium. Warm the tips in the butter. Bring the puréed asparagus to a simmer and season with kosher salt, then whisk in the remaining butter.

Immediately before serving, add the lemon juice to the asparagus sauce. Divide the sauce among plates or large bowls. Place the scallops on the sauce and garnish with the warmed asparagus tips and lemon zest.