This dish is easy yet romantic, fun, and pretty to serve on Valentine's Day. A day that often falls during the work week, this year on Wednesday, it is wonderfully ideal to cozy up at home and feed each other sushi bites with chopsticks and glasses of dry champagne. Easy to prepare in under 20 minutes, this plate says "I Love You" the second it is on the table. If you are or know a great fishmonger, New Zealand's King Ora or Faroe Islands salmon are luxurious sushi-grade options. I won't tell if you don't, but shelled edamame is found any time of year in the frozen food section of well-stocked supermarkets; who cares that they were frozen when truffle salt and truffle oil make them absolutely irresistible. Licking the truffle salt from the pods before shelling them adds a sensual experience to this dinner.

Hand harvested by Scuba divers, sweet, firm, and plump Diver scallops are then cut into heart shapes (save the excess and chop up for a bit of ceviche on the side). Dress the salmon and scallops in a light squeeze of lime juice and bit of lime zest. Together with the charred and truffle essence of the edamame, this is a dish you might want to bring out the rest of the year as an impressive starter at a dinner party or bridal shower.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces sushi grade salmon, skin removed, cut into very thin 3" long slices
  • 3 Diver scallops, cut in half at the equator
  • 1 lime, zested and juiced
  • 8 ounces of edamame in the shell
  • 1 tablespoon safflower oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon truffle salt
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons truffle oil
  • Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
  • Cilantro micro greens, optional

Directions

  1. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the whole edamame. Cook until charred, turning occasionally. Remove to a serving bowl and toss with the truffle oil and salt.
  2. Place the slices of salmon inside the form of a large heart-shaped cookie cutter set in the center of a serving platter. Working from the edge of the interior of the cookie cutter, continue placing single layers around the form and then layering until the center of the heart is covered with salmon. Repeat to desired heart height--four layers are usually sufficient. Carefully remove the cutter to leave the salmon heart on the plate. Chop the remaining salmon into small pieces and place in a small serving bowl.
  3. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the diver scallop halves into hearts. Place these hearts around the salmon. Chop the scallop trimmings and add to the bowl with the salmon.
  4. Use a tiny spoon to drizzle 1 teaspoon of the lime juice over the salmon and the scallops. Sprinkle the lime zest over the scallops and the salmon. Finish with a light sprinkle of sea salt flakes over the salmon and the scallops.
  5. Pour the rest of the lime juice over the fish and scallop trimmings. Add 1/2 teaspoon truffle oil and a few crushed sea salt flakes. Stir and serve alongside the heart sushi platter.
  6. Add a few edamame to the heart sushi serving plate (serve the remaining alongside the sushi plate with an extra bowl for the shells), sprinkle with cilantro microgreens, and pass the chopsticks.