This amazing looking dish comes to us from Coliseum Pool & Grill Chef Marc Osier at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California. These "Diving Scallops" in English pea purée with lobster, citrus and fennel salad will be available as a daily special at two Pelican Hill restaurants to commemorate the Olympic divers between July 27 and August 12, 2012. If you want to try it out for yourself though, here's the fantastic recipe!

Servings: 6
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

English Pea Purée:

• 2 cups fresh English peas
• 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• Fresh ground white pepper, to taste

Poached Lobster:

• 1 pound of small lobster claw meat
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped leeks
• ½ cup chopped fennel
• 1 lemon cut into wedges
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 8 parsley stems
• 4 black peppercorns
• Sea salt, to taste

Fennel and Citrus Salad:

• 1 cup julienned fennel
• 1 grapefruit, segmented
• 1 tablespoon finely cut chives
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to drizzle
• Sea salt, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

Scallops Ingredients:

• 18 U-10 scallops
• 3 tablespoons grape seed oil
• Sea salt, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

Preparation

English Pea Purée:

In a medium sauce pot, bring 2 quarts water with 1 tablespoon sea salt to a boil.

Blanch the peas in the salted water until tender and bright green.

Strain peas and drop into a bowl of ice water immediately. After peas are completely cooled, strain and purée in a blender with fennel fronds.

Poached Lobster:

In a small stock pot, bring salted water to a boil with black peppercorns, celery, onion, leeks, fennel, lemon, thyme and parsley stems.

Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Place the lobster claw meat in the pot until just cooked through (about 7 minutes depending on the size of the claws).

Gently remove lobster from the pot and cool on a rack in the refrigerator.

Fennel and Citrus Salad:

In a bowl, gently toss all salad ingredients together.

Scallops:

Season scallops with sea salt and white pepper.

In a hot sauté pan, add grape seed oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan).

Place the scallops in the sauté pan and sear for 2 minutes. Turn the scallops over and sear the opposite side for 2 minutes.

Remove scallops once cooked to medium (firm, but tender).

Add grade seed oil to pan, as needed to sear remaining scallops.

To Plate:

While the scallops are cooking, each plate may be set.

Place 2 tablespoons of pea purée in the center of each plate. Gently smooth the purée out into a large, even circle.

Toss the lobster meat into the fennel and citrus salad, then place in the center of the purée.

Place the cooked scallops around the salad.