things to do with scallops

okay, this is very much the masterchef territory, and i don't mean the professional version either. i am half-expecting greg the egg to come along and say something totally banal and obvious like: she has got the right idea but will it work in practice??

cooking doesn't get tougher than this. and so on.

simple idea - you pair the scallops with a sweet, starchy root veg of some variety, and then you add crispy, salty bits of pig on top. you can't really go wrong with the pork and seafood combination. well, you probably can, but you know what i mean.

the first picture is fried scallops with jerusalem artichoke pure and grilled pancetta and the second is carrot pure with black pudding. i prefered the artichokes - for some bizarre reason they really do go very well with scallops (and i know because this was our christmas dinner starter last year).

SCALLOPS WITH JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE PUREE AND PANCETTA

for two

300g jerusalem artichokes, peeled

a knob of butter

6 slices of very thinly sliced pancetta (bacon won't really do)

6 scallops (or however many you want per person x two)

olive oil and butter for frying

seasoning

some freshly chopped parsley

cook the artichokes in some boiling water until they are tender. they're tender like potatoes - you should be able to stick a knife in them easily. drain well and whizz in a food processor until smooth. return to the pan, reheat and add a knob of butter. season generously. that's the pure done.

in the meantime, grill the pancetta until crispy. drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

for scallops, heat some olive oil and butter in a heavy based frying pan or a decent non stick pan. season the scallops and fry for 2 minutes on one side, depending on size, and maybe a minute - if that - on the other.

to assemble, place a dollop of the pure on a plate, top with scallops and scatter over the crispy pancetta. sprinkle the parsley on top.

for the carrot version, it's the same thing - cook the carrots, whizz up with butter, grill the black pudding, and that's it.