A glorious starter.
Ingredients
- 4 scallops (cleaned and roe removed)
- bacon fat (from the cooked bacon)
- for the nutty herb mushrooms:
- 100 g butter (cubed)
- 1 shallot (peeled and finely chopped)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed)
- 1 clove of smoked garlic (peeled and crushed)
- 600 g chestnut mushrooms (cleaned and roughly chopped)
- ¼ glass white wine
- 50 g roasted chestnuts (roughly chopped)
- 1 sprig of thyme (finely chopped)
- 50 ml chicken stock
- 4 x rashers of bacon, grilled or baked and chopped into small pieces (reserve fat for scallops)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 thin slices of pancetta
Method
- For the Nutty Herb Mushroom Mix:
- Place the butter, the shallots and garlic into a saucepan and sweat off for about 2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and thyme and sweat for a further few minutes.
- Pour in the wine, bringing it back to the boil.
- Add the cooked and chopped bacon pieces and chopped chestnuts.
- Add the chicken stock and keep stirring until it reduces.
- Add seasoning to taste, set aside and keep warm.
- For the Scallops:
- Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a frying pan, heat the bacon fat and lay the scallops on the pan to fry for 50 seconds-1 minute on each side and lightly golden.
- Set aside and keep warm.
- For the Crisp Pancetta:
- Lay the pancetta slices onto a baking tray and place another baking tray on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the pancetta is crisp and golden brown.
- Set the pancetta aside until completely cool, still sandwiched between the trays (this will keep the pancetta flat).
- To Serve:
- Place a couple of tablespoons of the warm nutty herbs and mushrooms in the centre of a shallow bowl and place a cooked scallop on top.
- Finish with a piece of the crisp pancetta piece and serve immediately.
