Recipe: Saint-Jacques with Licorice

Preparation:

1 Thaw the scallop meats in the open air on a cloth, which helps dry them for pan-searing.

2 During this time, prepare a rich fish stock, strain it, sift it, remove the fat and reduce it.
(reduce by 3/4, over very low heat, so that the stock is reduced to two to three ladlefuls at most).

3 Peel three raw red bell peppers (it's a bit tedious, but grilling them first transfers some of the bitterness of the skin to the flesh).
Cut the peppers into medium squares and let them soften slowly in a pot with a spoonful of olive oil. Salt and pepper generously. Add a pinch of sugar.

4 Lighten the crème fraîche with a whisk in a bowl, salt and pepper. Adjust the seasoning of the stock and incorporate the stock into the cream. Return to cooking over low heat until boiling.
Maintain a gentle boil for a moment to achieve a slight reduction of the cream. Keep warm.

5 Then take two ladlefuls of cream (white), and dissolve a few fragments of licorice in it. Keep this cream (blond) warm.
Be careful with the licorice! You must use very little! If the licorice asserts itself immediately in taste... it's lost! It should reveal itself at the back of the palate, somewhat like in wine. That's when you'll succeed in uniting it with the sweetness of the scallops!
The color can also guide you, for the contrast between your two creams, think of a light coffee-milk cloud in milk!...