Raw Orkney scallop with green apple, coconut and nasturtium
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 50 minutes
Scallops are one of the most popular types of shellfish out there, and while they're delicious pan-fried, serving them raw allows their delicate salinity and sweetness to shine through. James Cochran serves his dressed in a sauce made from the skirt trimmings, along with refreshing acidic discs of apple, creamy coconut gel and fresh nasturtium leaves.
This dish also includes a salt flavoured with the dehydrated scallop roe; this is optional as it takes a day to cure and dehydrate the roe, but can be done in advance. You can also prepare all the other elements of this dish in advance, requiring just the apple and nasturtium garnish to be made right before plating.
Watch James cook this incredible starter as part of our Signature Series video masterclasses here.
First published in 2020
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 4 hand-dived scallops, large and the best quality you can get, with their shells, skirts and roe reserved
- 1 pinch of sugar, (optional)
- 1 dash of vegetable oil
- 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 50g of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 300ml of water
- salt
- 300ml of coconut milk
- 3g of agar agar
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
- 1 green apple
- nasturtium leaves, to garnish
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Begin by preparing the scallops – you can either ask your fishmonger to do this for you or give it a go at home. Carefully shuck the scallops, reserving the shells, then tidy up the main muscle by trimming away the roe and skirts (ensuring you reserve them all for the sauce). Wash the trimmed scallops to remove any grit or dirt and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve
- 4 hand-dived scallops, large and the best quality you can get, with their shells, skirts and roe reserved
2
If you’re not making the roe salt, then skip to step 5. If you are, wash the roes well then pat dry and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and sugar. Set aside in the fridge for 4 hours to cure
- 1 pinch of sugar, (optional)
- salt
3
Once cured, preheat an oven to 85°C. Wash the cured roes and place in the oven for 8 hours to dehydrate
4
The next day, blitz the dried roe into a powder with a good pinch of salt, then store in an airtight container until ready to serve
5
Boil the reserved scallop shells in water for 5 minutes, then drain and give them a good clean so they can be used to serve in. Set aside
6
Wash the reserved skirts well until they turn a paler, whiter colour, then drain. Add a dash of oil to a saucepan then add the skirts along with the shallot, garlic and ginger. Cook over a low heat for around 15 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the water, bring to a simmer then cook uncovered for 20 minutes
- 1 dash of vegetable oil
- 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 50g of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 300ml of water
7
Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk and agar agar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Once cool and set, transfer to a blender and blitz into a gel, then transfer to a squeezy bottle and keep in the fridge
- 300ml of coconut milk
- 3g of agar agar
8
Once the skirt stock has been simmering for 20 minutes and thickened slightly, pass the liquid through a fine sieve set over a bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Leave to cool
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
9
Finely slice the apple with a mandoline, then use a small ring cutter to stamp out perfect circles. Do the same with the nasturtium leaves if they’re large. If you don’t have a mandoline or ring cutter, you could use a small melon baller or just a sharp knife to finely dice the apple (and leave the nasturtiums as is)
- 1 green apple
- nasturtium leaves, to garnish
10
When ready to plate up, place a bed of salt in the centre of each serving plate, then place a cleaned scallop shell on top (the salt should keep it in place). Finely slice the raw scallops and toss in the skirt sauce with a pinch of salt, then divide between the shells. Layer discs of apple on top of the scallop, then pipe dots of coconut gel in between. Scatter over a pinch of roe salt (if using), then top with nasturtiums. Place the other half of the scallop shell on top and serve
First published in 2020
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