Try this delicious combination, great for quick supper served with a chilled crisp white wine. It may however leave you wishing you had bought more scallops….
Pan griddles scallops, red onion jam, deep fried basil and rapeseed oil
Serves four as a starter or two as a main
Ingredients
12 Cornish scallops (roe left on)
3 red onions (finely sliced)
250mls red wine
50mls red wine vinegar
60gms dark brown sugar
2 bay leaves
12 large leaves of basil
Rapeseed oil
½ pint vegetable oil
Method
- If buying shell on scallops slide a knife into the hinge of the scallop and twist to release it. Then run the knife along the flat shell to cut away the scallop. Get a spoon and scoop everything out the rounded shell. You want to be left with the white scallop meat and roe, removing the small mussel on the side.
- Now place the onions, red wine, vinegar, sugar and bay leaves in a small pan and cook on a medium heat for roughly 30 minutes. You want a nice sticky consistency.
- While this is cooking heat about half a pint of vegetable oil in a pan until it reaches 140 degrees centigrade. Then place the basil leaves in the oil for a couple of minutes or until they stop bubbling. (Be careful as they will spit.) Remove and place on a dry tea towel and lightly salt.
- Place a griddle pan on a high heat. Rub the scallops with rapeseed oil and season them with salt and cracked black pepper. Place the scallops in the pan when it is smoking hot and cook them for roughly one minute each side, they are better eaten under than over done!
- To serve place 3 scallops on a warm plate along with three spoons of the red onion jam, garnish with the basil leaves and drizzle the plate with rapeseed oil.