For my sister's birthday dinner, I decided to go with a soup and salad first course. For the soup I made a Roasted Red Pepper soup served in tall shot glasses and the salad was a scallop ceviche with arugula greens. I called the dish Red Pepper Shooter and Scallop Ceviche Rocket. I read somewhere that arugula is referred to as rocket in England and thought that sounded a lot more fun than just arugula salad. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of this plate...but trust me, it looked great.
Red Pepper Shooter
3 red bell peppers, seeded
1 tbl. butter
1 tbl. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbl. AP flour
1 healthy pinch red pepper flakes
A few sprigs of thyme
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
Salt and Pepper
Cut the peppers open and lay them flat on a foil lined baking sheet. Put them under the broiler until the skin is blistered and charred. Put them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to help steam the skin off. Once the skin is loosened, peel the skin off and chop the peppers into 1 inch chunks.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil then add the onions to saute. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and continue about 1 minute. Add the flour to create a bit of a roux.
Add the roasted peppers, broth, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and let it do so for 20-25 minutes.
Use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to smooth out the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Scallop Ceviche Rocket
3/4 lb. sea scallops, cut crosswise into 1/8 inch thick slices
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped into very small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice from 8 limes, approximately 1 cup
2 tbl red onion, chopped into very small dice
1 seeded and diced tomato
Olive oil
Arugula
Avocado slices
Put the scallops, lime juice, jalapeno pepper and garlic in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour. The acid in the lime juice cooks the scallops. Some people poach the scallops ahead of time, but I find that unnecessary.
Just before serving, combine the onion and tomato in a bowl. Spoon out the scallops and add them to the tomato and onion mixture.
Use some of the lime juice to make a dressing with the olive oil. Serve on the arugula and decorate with the avocado slices. Top with the dressing.
