Diamond Dish: The Weekapaug Inn

Diamond Designation: Four Diamond (Upscale style and amenities with the right touch of service. Learn more about AAA Diamonds.)

Location: 25 Spray Rock Rd, Westerly, R.I.

Less than two hours from Boston and two and half hours from Manhattan, the Weekapaug Inn is a breezy escape. Sitting on the Rhode Island shoreline overlooking Quonochontaug Pond and the Atlantic Ocean, it is decidedly New England in style and feel.

The restaurant’s menu sticks to the theme, highlighting seasonal coastal cuisine expertly crafted with traditionally foraged native ingredients, local produce and fresh seafood. This pan-seared scallop dish, courtesy of chef Salvatore Brucculeri, is a perfect example of what you can expect.

Great Northern Beans

1 quart dry white beans, soaked overnight
1 gallon chicken stock
Sachet (thyme, parsley stem, rosemary, oregano)
Salt to taste

Add ingredients to pot and let simmer until the beans are tender. Strain beans and let cool. Save liquid to reheat the beans in. Discard sachet.

Bean Ragout

½ ounce sopressata, small dice
1 teaspoon fennel, small dice
1 teaspoon celery, small dice
1 ounce prepared Great Northern beans
5 fava beans, blanched and shocked
½ ounce white wine
4 ounces chicken stock
1 tablespoon roasted red peppers, small dice
5 pearl onions, blanched, peeled and shocked
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
½ lemon, juiced, to taste
1 teaspoon butter
Salt to taste

In saucepan over medium-high heat, render sopressata until crispy. Add fennel and celery; cook until tender. Add beans and deglaze with white wine. Once reduced, add chicken stock and cook until glazed. Add all ingredients except lemon juice and butter. When hot, finish with lemon juice, butter and salt.

Chive Shellfish Beurre Blanc

4 ounces lobster stock
2 cups white wine
1 ounce white wine vinegar
1 parsley stem
1 thyme stem
2 black peppercorns
2 coriander seeds
2 fennel seeds
¼ pound butter
Salt and lemon juice
¼ ounce chives, finely chopped

In saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients except for butter and reduce. Add in butter, whisking after each addition. Season with salt and lemon juice, then strain. Fold in chives.

Scallop

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
12 sea scallops
1 tablespoon butter
1 sprig thyme
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt to taste

Heat oil over high heat. Sear scallops until golden brown on each side; remove. Reduce heat and add butter, thyme and lemon juice. Baste for 2 minutes. Season with salt. Portion out beurre blanc, ragout and three scallops each over four plates.

Serves 4.

For more restaurant recipes, visit AAA.com/DiamondDish.