I’m not a big fan of cooked scallops. I’ve always preferred eating them raw – and still serve them like this as a snack in the restaurant. But this relies on getting them live and fresh and using them immediately.
The scallops I took on this camping trip weren’t quite as fresh as I had hoped, so I tried something different and cooked them like this. It gave them an intense, roasted shellfish flavour as well as a lovely, earthy smokiness. It’s something I’ve since taken back to the restaurant, where we cook them to order in the hot embers of the fire.
Quickly roasted scallops
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 scallops in their shells, scallop meat trimmed and rinsed
80ml olive oil
Pinch of salt flakes
1 fresh horseradish root
Method:
Detach the roes from the scallop meat and roughly chop, adding olive oil and salt to form a rough paste.
Spoon the paste over the scallop meat, grate over the horseradish and tie the shells together with string.
Place the tied scallops onto hot coals and leave to cook until you see the filling mixture start to bubble out of the side of the shells. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
This is an edited extract from Igni: A Restaurant’s First Year by Aaron Turner published by Hardie Grant Books (RRP $60) and available in stores nationally.
