My debut at Dorset Seafood Festival!

What a perfect day for my debut at the Dorset Seafood Festival! I love this festival & was so pleased they were keen for me to take part this year.

The 7th Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival brought together champagne and seafood, family entertainment and a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of the superb seafood available to us just off our wonderful shores. I think it’s so important to appreciate our fishermen too, and as the festival supports all of the good work that the Fishermen’s Mission does, I was particularly proud to be on stage for this great cause.

Scallops were on the menu for my dem – mostly because I think people are a little bit scared of cooking them, let alone dealing with getting them out of their shells! Using great ingredients, but keeping the recipes simple is a great motto I think. Here’s my recipe, give it a go!

Scallops & brown shrimps,beurre noisette, pickled cucumber

Serves 2

6 scallops (in their shells)

70g unsalted butter

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

150g brown shrimps

handful of samphire, blanched in boiling water

30g dill, chopped

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Pickled cucumber

1/2 cucumber 

25g salt

25g caster sugar

30ml white wine vinegar

Begin with the pickled cucumber. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the cucumber into strips. Discarding the very seedy centre, or you can simply peel around it. Place the strips in a bowl and mix with the salt and sugar. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. Squeeze the cucumber gently to remove any excess liquid, finish by dabbing with kitchen towel to remove the last of the liquid. Place back into the cleaned bowl and toss in the vinegar. Allow to sit and infuse.

Next, blanch the samphire in boiling water for no more than 3 minutes. Drain & set aside.

Heat a frying pan with a splash of olive oil and a knob of the butter. When the butter foams and melts, place the scallops in the pan, along with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds each side. Remove the scallops and wipe out the pan. Add the rest of the butter, and allow to cook until it foams, and starts to turn a slightly golden colour with a nutty smell. Add the lemon juice to the butter, along with the shrimps. Toss them to coat and then place the scallops back in. Cook for a further minute spooning the hot butter over the scallops to warm and cook them further. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, arrange the samphire on the plates, place the scallops on top and spoon over the shrimps and butter. Place a few of the cucumber strips around the plate and garnish with the chopped dill.

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