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"Djondjon" black mushrooms Israeli couscous with lemon butter scallops & crisp sage

"Djondjon" black mushrooms Israeli couscous with lemon butter scallops & crisp sage. Delicious recipe easier than you think.

Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Keyword djondjon, israeli couscous, pasta, scallops, seafood
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Haiti Bites Haiti Bites

Ingredients

Djondjon Israeli Couscous

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups djondjon
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 4.5 cups israeli couscous (this is not regular couscous)
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp garlic creole marinade (or 1/2 tbsp garlic paste)
  • 1/2 tbsp rosemary
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup truffle oil (for finishing)

Crispy sage

  • 12 leaves fresh sage
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • coarse sea salt

Lemon butter scallops

  • 2 dozen large scallops
  • 1 lime juice
  • 1 lime zest
  • 2 tbsp salted butter
  • 1/2 tsp creole garlic marinade (or 1/4 tsp garlic paste)
  • 1 cup cresson / watercress
  • salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions

"Djondjon" black mushrooms Israeli couscous

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt to a boil.

  2. Add your 2 cups of Djondjon (black mushrooms) and let it boil for 10 minutes until water tuns dark black.

  3. Turn off the heat and add to your blender and purée.

  4. Strain well, getting all the juices from the marc.

  5. Quickly rinse your saucepan and bring back on your stove over medium heat.

  6. Melt your butter and sauté garlic and rosemary quickly.

  7. Add your djondjon broth and vegetable broth.

  8. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil.

  9. Once boiled reduce heat, add in your Israeli couscous and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  10. Once ready turn off the heat, add in your truffle oil and mix well. Set aside covered until ready to serve.

Crispy sage

  1. In a small fry pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.

  2. Fry 6 to 8 sage leaves at a time just 2 to 3 seconds, until crisp. Careful not to burn them. They should remain bright green with a little gold.

  3. Transfer leaves carefully to paper towels with a fork to avoid excess oil.

  4. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt generously and set aside.

  5. Do not throw away the oil, which we will use to sear the scallops. Pour it in a measuring cup or recipient of your choice.

Lemon butter seared scallops

  1. Thaw your scallops in cold water or overnight in the fridge. (You want to start your prepping with this step).

  2. In a paper towel, pat dry your scallops to remove excess water.

  3. Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste to season.

  4. In your fry pan, over medium heat add 1/3 of your sage oil (the left over oil from your sage crisping).

  5. Sear 6 to 8 your scallops at a time 2 to 3 minutes on each side until gold and crisp. You don't want to over cook them so they remain extra tender and juicy. You want to work in 3 batches to avoid them sticking to one another.

  6. Set your first batch of seared scallops aside in a plate, and repeat the steps until you have seared all 24 scallops.

  7. In your fry pan, melt your butter over low-medium heat. 

  8. Add in your garlic and lemon juice. With a spoon scrap off all the crispy bits from the pan, this will give you extra flavors.

  9. Turn the heat to a simmer and add in your scallops coating them entirely with the lemon butter sauce.

Finishing

  1. Plate your Djondjon black mushrooms Israeli couscous.

  2. Top with fresh watercress.

  3. Top with 3 to 4 scallops and drizzle some lemon butter over.

  4. Sprinkle some lime zest on top.

  5. Top with 1 or 2 leaves of crispy sage.

Recipe Notes

You can find my creole garlic marinade here or use garlic paste if you'd prefer.