Roasted scallop with pickled carrots, nasturtiums and shellfish sauce

Begin by pickling the carrots as they take 48 hours. Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to the boil then pour the liquor over the mint stalks and leave to infuse for 24 hours

Strain the stalks out of the pickling liquor. Use a very small parisian scoop to make 1-2cm balls out of both carrots (keeping the colours separate). Slice and reserve the leftover carrots for the shellfish sauce

Place the carrot balls in separate vacuum bags with some of the pickle liquor then vacuum seal and leave to pickle for 24 hours. You could also simply submerge the balls in separate bowls of the liquor, but the flavour won’t be as strong

Next, make the oil. Blanch the spinach and nasturtium leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in iced water. Squeeze dry and roughly chop before adding to a Thermomix with the oil. Set to 90°C for 9 minutes, blending on the highest speed for 1 minute, then scraping down the sides and blending on speed 3 for the remaining 8 minutes. If you don't have a Thermomix, blitz in a regular blender until smooth and bright green. Pass through a fine sieve, discard the pulp and chill

To make the shellfish sauce, add the oil and 25g of the butter to a large pan and once hot, add the spices, vegetables and shell pieces. Cook until golden and caramelised

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and brandy, then once it has mostly reduced, add the chicken stock and simmer for 1 hour on a low heat

Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce the liquid by half, then add the reduced carrot juice and cream. Add the butter one cube at a time to emulsify the liquid into a nice glossy sauce. Taste and season with salt

Carefully shuck and remove the skirt & roe from the scallop (if needed – the fishmonger may have already done this for you). Bring the scallops to room temperature before cooking

Add the grapeseed oil to a nonstick frying pan and when beginning to smoke add the scallops flat-side down and cook until golden (about 2-4 minutes depending on the size). Add the butter and, once melted and foaming, flip over the scallops and baste. Season with salt then remove from the pan

Place a scallop in the centre of each bowl with a few of the pickled carrots to one side. Froth the warm sauce with a hand blender and pour alongside the scallop. Split the sauce with some drops of the nasturtium oil and garnish with a few small nasturtium leaves