Every once in a while I like to try out a new recipe and make sure my diet is varied and tasty! This time called for scallops! I have to be very careful about seafood as with any Oily or "strong" fish, I can have a severe allergic reaction but I recognise that i need to have seafood in my diet to help control my allergies as you be suprise what contains fish oil! Also there's so many advantages to eat seafood that it seems silly to avoid it completely!
I love scallops as its such a delicate meaty taste and makes for a lovely dish if teamed with the right ingrediants that doesn't overwhelm its subtle flavours and not overcooked!
I like to work with produce where I know its fresh or where it comes from if possible. I sat watching bad TV (most haunted!) shelling peas into a bowl, something i use to do as a child!
The scallops were bought from the local fish market cleaned up and patted dry. As you can see, they all came with their little orange corals/roe...depending on what you fancy calling it! These scallops are hand dredged in the cornish coast where they carefully monitor fishing levels and strive to minimise damage to sea and its environment.
To make this dish you need -
- a bunch of spring onions cut at an angle
- a good handful of fresh/frozen peas
- around 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 8-12 scallops
- salt/pepper for flavouring
- lemon juice
- garlic clove finely grated-if preferred
- little bit of butter
1 - Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a
medium-low heat. Add the spring onions and let them sweat gently for
about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the peas and toss for a minute or two.
Season with salt and pepper, remove from the pan and set aside.
2 - Wipe
the pan with kitchen paper. Add another tablespoon of oil and turn the
heat up high. Season the scallops and add when the pan is very hot– they
should sizzle when they hit the pan. Leave them for about 1 minute,
then carefully turn one over: if golden brown, flip all the scallops
over and cook until caramelised on the other side.
3 - Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the peas and spring onions to the pan, along with the butter and garlic.
4 - Toss, take off the heat, add a squeeze of lemon, then transfer to warm plates and serve.
I served this with a slice of locally hand-made rosemary loaf to mop up the flavours and it was lovely!
You can add chorizo or bacon pieces to this dish if you want to add alittle more meat!
Give this recipe a whirl and let me know what you think!
Birdie Love
xxx
