Scallops are always welcome on our menus as we just love them. In whatever form they are prepared or whatever flavour they’re served with, it is always seventh heaven on a plate!
Hokkaido scallops are harvested in northern Hokkaido in Japan. Although there are other origins for scallops, the Hokkaido are the most famous in the world for their natural sweet flavour and firmness.
Did you know that scallops, like all bivalves, lack actual brains. Another fun fact is that scallops can be male or female, but there are others that are both at the same time and then there is a small third group that are male first and change to female later…they don’t have the choice though…nature is intriguing.
In this recipe we marry the scallops with the natural flavour of the cherry tomatoes. The balance between the sweetness and acidity is perfect and there is no need to add extra sugar to the tomatoes.
Give a little twist to this dish by adding a few pistils of saffron and orange zest to the coulis instead of herbes de Provence.
Pan seared Hokkaido scallops
EQUIPMENT (click pictures for details)
Ingredients
- 16 pcs pcs scallop meat
- 2 tbsp clarified butter
- For the tomato coulis:
- 500 gr cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
The coulis
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and arrange the halved cherry tomatoes on a baking tray.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes have released their juices and their skins are starting to blister.
- Transfer the baked tomatoes with the extracted juice into the blender. Adjust the thickness with some water if required and season to taste. Pass the tomato purée through a thin mesh sieve.
The scallops
- Pat dry the scallop meat on a kitchen towel.
- Sear the scallops in clarified butter over a high heat and season to taste.
Notes
- Clarified butter can hold a temperature of up to 170° C for frying compared to regular butter which burns at 120°C.
- Clarified butter can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to a month.
- You will only get a nice brown crust on the scallops if they are completely dry and your pan is really hot.
