Pan-fried scallops with butternut squash two ways

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only

Serve up a restaurant-style starter at home – much of it can be made ahead so you can relax with a glass of wine on the night

Prep:30 mins
Cook:40 mins

Serves 2
More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 824
fat 62g
saturates 24g
carbs 27g
sugars 15g
fibre 5g
protein 40g
salt 3.98g

Ingredients

6 large scallops, prepared and halved horizontally
2 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
bottom half of 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into small chunks (save the top half for the dressing)
75ml fresh chicken stock
1 tsp finely grated parmesan
top half of 1 butternut squash, peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
150g piece streaky bacon, cut into small pieces, or pre-cut lardons
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp small capers
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Tip

Buying the best
The quality and price of scallops is dependent on whether they have been dredged or handdived. The best-quality scallops are hand-dived, where each one is plucked from the seabed. This is labour-intensive so these are considerably more expensive. You can buy prepared scallops or ask for them to be prepared for you by your fishmonger.

Method

To make the purée, heat the butter in a small saucepan and add the squash. Sweat it over a very low heat for 5 mins, then pour over the stock. Cover and gently simmer for 10-12 mins until the squash is very soft.
Take off the heat and add the Parmesan. Use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the squash until smooth, then press through a sieve into another saucepan. Season to taste and set aside.
To make the warm salad, trim the squash into a neat block, then neatly dice the flesh into cubes no larger than 1cm. Heat half the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the squash for 10 mins, or until tender and coloured, then tip onto a plate.
Place the pan back on the heat and gently fry the bacon for 10 mins, or until crisp and brown. Add the onion and cook for 2 mins to soften in the fat, then add the capers and squash, drizzle over the Sherry vinegar and toss together for 1 min. Off the heat, stir in the chives and the rest of the oil, then tip everything into a bowl and keep warm.
Have the scallops to hand as you will need to work fast when cooking them. Clean out the frying pan and place it back on the heat with a drizzle more oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, carefully lay the scallops in the pan one at a time, like points on a clock face, starting at 6 o’clock, so you remember which one went in first.
Scallops take very little time to cook, so by the time the last one is in the pan, the first will be brown and ready to turn over. Flip all the scallops over and give them about 1 min more, then lift onto kitchen paper on a plate to drain the oil. With the salad and the purée still warm, you are now ready to plate up.
Spoon half the warm salad down the middle of each plate. Overlap 6 pieces of scallop along the salad. Use a spoon to swipe the purée around the outside of the food. Drizzle everything with a touch more oil, and you are now ready to serve.