Scallops are a tasty fast food, they only take a few minutes to pan-fry for a perfect dish. In this scallops with pancetta recipe the meaty flesh is paired up with a sweet pea and mint puree. Delicious.
Ingredients For Scallops With Pancetta
2 large scallops per person from Walter Purkis & Sons
2 rashers pancetta or streaky bacon per person
25g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil and a little extra for drizzling
Salt and ground black pepper
For the Pea-Mint Puree:
55g unsalted butter
6 spring onions, finely sliced
175g frozen peas
1 teaspoon golden caster sugar
300ml vegetable stock
2 tablespoons mint, leaves only, rough chopped
150ml double cream
Garnish:
Sprigs of fresh mint
balsamic vinegar
Cooking Method For Scallops With Pancetta
First make the pea and mint puree, heat a medium non- stick deep frying pan and melt half the butter until hot and foaming, add the spring onions and cook until they are softened.
Add the peas, caster sugar, stock and remaining butter, place a circle of grease-proof paper or lid over the top. Turn down the heat and allow to sweat for about 4 minutes. Remove the cover, fold in the mint and cream and allow to cook for a further minute until all the liquid has evaporated.
Place into a food processor and liquidise until smooth – you still want a little of the texture in the mixture. Set aside until ready to use. (Alternatively for extra smooth refinement pass the mixture through a fine sieve.)
Using the back of a knife stretch the slices of pancetta. Wrap each slice around each scallop and hold in place with a cocktail stick. Heat the butter and oil in a medium non-stick frying pan, when hot and foaming add the scallops and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
Gently remove the scallops from the pan, drain on a paper towel and keep warm.
To serve, place a spoonful of the puree slightly off centre on a serving plate, top the puree with 2 cooked scallops. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Garnish with sprigs of mint and reduced balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.
