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Recipe of the Month
with
Karen Akunowicz
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Photo credit: Kristen Teig
Karen Akunowicz is the Chef/Owner of Fox & the Knife enoteca and Bar Volpe in Boston. Karen has cooked in many beloved Boston restaurants, including Ten Tables Via Matta, Oleana, Myers + Chang, and also served as the Chef of L’Avian Blu in Modena, Italy.
In 2019, Karen opened Fox & the Knife, which allowed her to indulge her love of creating Italian-inspired food and drink served in a warm and welcoming enoteca. In 2021, she opened Bar Volpe, a restaurant and pastificio (pasta shop) focused on wood-fired Southern Italian cuisine. She has also competed on Bravo’s Emmy nominated show Top Chef, and has appeared on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay. Among many accolades, she was named Boston Magazine’s Best Chef in 2016, and was named the 2018 James Beard Foundation Award Best Chef: Northeast. Karen is also celebrating the release of her new cookbook, Crave, featuring over 100 spicy, sour, salty-sweet-crunchy, cold and creamy recipes!
We are proud to count Karen among our No Kid Hungry Chef Champions. She has participated in countless culinary events, including Taste of the Nation and No Kid Hungry Dinners, and she has traveled to Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of programs to reach more kids with healthy meals. She always has No Kid Hungry top of mind and we are incredibly grateful for her support.
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Seared Scallop Piccata
By Karen Akunowicz | Serves 2 to 4
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Ingredients
- 12 large sea scallops, just over 1 pound (U10s are the really nice big ones)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or other neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup good dry white wine
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon small diced shallot
- 2 tablespoons chopped preserved Meyer lemon rind (or lemon zest)
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed thoroughly
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Note
- You will need quite a large pan for this—or you can use two pans or cook in batches.
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Instructions
- Clean the scallops by removing the “foot,” the small abductor muscle on the side of the shellfish—and pat dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Have a paper towel-lined plate ready to go.
- Place a large stainless-steel or cast-iron sauté pan over high heat and add your oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer, arrange your scallops in the pan, being careful not to place them close together. Make sure there is an inch between them; if your pan is not big enough to accommodate all 12, you will need to sear in two batches or two pans.
- Lower the heat to medium-high and sear for 1 minute without touching or moving the scallops.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the pan. This will help brown the scallops, but you want to have already seared them and have them turning golden BEFORE you add the butter. Do NOT flip the scallops.
- Sear for 1 more minute and turn off the heat. Remove the scallops from the pan, using tongs, and set them, seared side UP, on the paper towel-lined plate.
- Next, you are going to build your sauce in the pan. Turn the heat to medium and add the white wine, lemon juice, and water to the pan. Let the liquid come to a simmer.
- Add the shallot, lemon zest, capers, and oregano, simmer for 30 seconds, and add the remaining tablespoon of unsalted butter. Swirl around the pan to emulsify the butter (combine into a smooth sauce) and add the chopped parsley.
- Turn off your heat and add the scallops back to the pan, uncooked side down. Let them hang out in the sauce for a minute and plate them, using tongs. Pour the sauce over the top of the scallops.
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