Diver Scallop and Caviar Devilled Eggs Recipe

From: Commander’s Palace, New Orleans.

Yield: 20 devilled eggs.

Devilled Eggs:
2 lb. diver scallops (reserve 1 lb. for ceviche recipe)
10 boiled eggs, peeled, cut in half, yolks reserved
1 cup Creole cream cheese or cream cheese
1 oz. parsley, chopped
1 oz. fresh thyme
½ oz. Choupique caviar
to taste, salt and white pepper
zest of 1 lemon

Scallop and Roasted Tomato Ceviche:
1 lb. scallops, small dice
6 Roma tomatoes, roasted, small dice
2 oz. mirliton (chayote squash), small dice
1 oz. fresh shallots, diced
1 oz. fresh garlic, crushed
1 oz. Steens Cane Vinegar
½ oz. fresh basil chiffonade
to taste, salt and ground black pepper

Basil Oil:
½ lb. fresh basil
¼ gallon olive oil blend

For diver scallop and caviar devilled eggs: Roast half of the scallops in a 350°F oven until just cooked through. Chill. Reserve other half of the scallops for ceviche. Place roasted scallops into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 4 to 5 times. Add the boiled egg yolks and pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the salt, white pepper, lemon zest and parsley. Pulse to incorporate. With machine running, slowly add all the Creole cream cheese. Scrape down sides of bowl and put lid back on; process for 5 more seconds.

Place mousse into pastry bag with pastry tip and pipe into boiled egg whites. Garnish with scallop ceviche, basil oil and caviar.

For scallop and roasted tomato ceviche: Place diced scallops into mixing bowl with mirliton and roasted Roma tomatoes chopped with skins off. Add basil, garlic and shallots; season with salt, pepper and cane vinegar. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Let stand for 1 hour until scallops are fully “cooked.”

For basil oil: Boil water in 1 qt. saucepot and blanch basil for 5 seconds. Immediately shock in ice water. Ring out excess water and remove stems. In a blender, add ¼ of the oil and the basil. Blend on medium speed. Add remaining oil until well-blended. Season with salt and strain through a coffee filter.