2331. SOBA CARBONARA with EDAMAME, BACON and BAY SCALLOPS

makes four servings


12 ounces soba noodles
1/4 cup shelled edamame
2 cups carbonara sauce (recipe below)
1/4 pound smoked bacon, diced small, rendered crisp and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup dashi-soy sauce (see Note)
1/2 pound dry bay scallops
chopped chives
truffle oil

Bring 8 quarts water to a boil. Cook soba just tender, 4 minutes. Add the edamame after 3 minutes. Drain. Rinse.

Prepare the carbonara sauce (recipe below). Add bacon and chives.

On low heat, toss the noodles and edamame in the sauce for 2 minutes to coat and thicken. Do not overheat or the sauce will break down. Remove from heat.

Bring the dashi-soy to a simmer. Add the scallops, turn off heat and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Portion the noodle mixture into serving bowls. Finish with grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil. Spoon the soy-poached scallops on top and a tablespoon of the dashi-soy poaching liquid around noodles on each dish.

Serve at once warm, at room temperature or chilled.

For the Carbonara Sauce: Bring 1/2 cup dry white wine to a boil to cook off the alcohol. Add ¼ cup dashi-soy and 1 cup heavy cream. Return to a low simmer. Meanwhile, set up a double boiler. Crack 3 egg yolks into a nonreactive bowl and whisk, slowly tempering in the wine-dashi-cream mixture. Set the bowl over simmering water. Whisk until eggs set at 160 degrees F. (the mixture will ribbon lightly). Do not overheat or mixture will separate. Add salt, freshly cracked white pepper and truffle oil, to taste.

Note: Dashi is a Japanese broth, often seaweed stock, sold in Asian and specialty food markets. For dashi-soy, mix 1 1/2 cups prepared dashi with 1/2 cup soy sauce. Refrigerate.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Chef Gerald Drummond, Morimoto, 723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | philly.com, 400 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130