Scallops are one of my very favourite foods and in some Scotland we really get the pick of the bunch, so tonight i decided to serve them up pan fried with a slightly spicy celeriac soup along with black pudding and pancetta, which both compliment the scallops perfectly!
The ginger and nutmeg in the soup gives this a slightly wintery feel – perfect for the freezing evenings!
Serves 4:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 celeriac (about 500grams), peeled and cut into cubes
3 shallots, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small piece of ginger, peeled and grated
100ml white wine
0.75l chicken stock
good pinch of nutmeg
100ml double cream
50g black pudding
12 scallops (coral removed)
50g butter
4 rashers of smoked pancetta
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the celeriac, shallots, garlic and ginger. Gently fry for a few minutes, until they soften slightly but don’t brown.
2. Add the white wine, bring everything to the boil and reduce the liquid by half. Add the chicken stock and ground nutmeg and bring to the boil again, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes until the celeriac has softened enough to blend.
3. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pan, add the cream and generously season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Reheat when you’re ready to serve
4. In a large frying pan, fry the black pudding until crisp. Set aside on kitchen paper to soak up any fat (be careful not to overcook). Crumble into small crumbs.
5. In the same frying pan, fry the strips of pancetta until crisp and remove and place on kitchen paper.
6. Season the scallops with salt and black pepper. Heat the frying pan again until very hot and add the butter. When the butter’s foaming, add the scallops and sear for 1 min on each side
7. Heat the soup and serve in a shallow bowl. Place 3 scallops each in the middle of the bowl, place a crisp pancetta rasher on top and garnish with the black pudding pieces.]
2. Add the white wine, bring everything to the boil and reduce the liquid by half. Add the chicken stock and ground nutmeg and bring to the boil again, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes until the celeriac has softened enough to blend.
3. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pan, add the cream and generously season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Reheat when you’re ready to serve
4. In a large frying pan, fry the black pudding until crisp. Set aside on kitchen paper to soak up any fat (be careful not to overcook). Crumble into small crumbs.
5. In the same frying pan, fry the strips of pancetta until crisp and remove and place on kitchen paper.
6. Season the scallops with salt and black pepper. Heat the frying pan again until very hot and add the butter. When the butter’s foaming, add the scallops and sear for 1 min on each side
7. Heat the soup and serve in a shallow bowl. Place 3 scallops each in the middle of the bowl, place a crisp pancetta rasher on top and garnish with the black pudding pieces.]
ENJOY!!!
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