But now to this week’s book Everyday Seafood which is by one of my favourite chefs in the country, Nathan Outlaw. Trust me when I say that seafood really is the best convenience food ever. Here you will find 100 recipes written, cooked and tested by the brilliant Michelin-star chef.
I definitely recommend giving the two dishes opposite a go – they are now Zilli favourites. So get cooking fish and I will see you next week. Ciao!
PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS, CHICORY, ORANGE & TARRAGON DRESSING
For the chicory:
3 chicory heads, outer leaves removed, shredded
50ml olive oil
75g unsalted butter
1 white onion, finely sliced
Grated zest of ½ orange
150ml double cream
For the dressing:
1 orange
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the scallops:
16-20 fresh scallops, shelled and cleaned (roes retained)
Olive oil for cooking
Sea salt and black pepper
To finish:
3 tsp chopped tarragon
SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 10 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 10 MINUTES
For the chicory, heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then add the olive oil and butter. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Now add the chicory and cream then cook, turning occasionally, for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the dressing, cut the peel and pith from the orange and cut out the segments from the membranes over a bowl to catch any juice. Slice the orange segments and place in a bowl with the extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper. Set aside.
To cook the scallops, heat a non-stick pan until very hot. Season the scallops with salt and drizzle some olive oil into the pan. Carefully place the scallops in the pan, one by one, remembering where you placed the first one. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Now flip the scallops over in the same order you placed them in the pan and cook for a further minute.
Take the pan off the heat and allow the scallops to finish cooking in the residual heat.
To serve, warm up the creamed chicory if need be, then taste and correct the seasoning. Divide the chicory between 4 warmed plates or shallow bowls and top each serving with 3 scallops. Add a good drizzle of orange dressing and sprinkle with the chopped tarragon. Serve warm.
PEAR CRUMBLE WITH EARL GREY CHOCOLATE SAUCE
For the chocolate sauce:
225ml double cream
100ml water
100g caster sugar
190g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), in small pieces
4 Earl Grey teabags
For the pear compote:
8 pears
50g unsalted butter
100ml pear cider
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped
For the crumble mix:
100g plain flour
150g ground almonds
100g golden caster sugar
100g demerara sugar
100g unsalted butter
4 pears for roasting
SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 35-40 MINUTES
To make the chocolate sauce, put the cream, water and sugar into a pan and heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil. Add the teabags, take off the heat, cover and leave to infuse and cool.
Once cooled, strain the mixture into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Immediately add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.
Preheat your oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas Mark 4.
For the pear compote, peel, halve and core the pears, then cut into roughly equal sized chunks. Heat the butter and cider in a pan until the butter has melted. Add the vanilla and stir well. Now add the pears and cook gently for 4 minutes. Divide the pear compote between individual baking dishes and set aside.
To make the crumble, mix the flour, ground almonds and sugars together in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips or pulse in a food processor until it looks like crumble.
Peel the pears for roasting and trim a thin slice from the base of each one, so they stand upright.
Stand a pear in the centre of each baking dish. Scatter the crumble over the pear compote and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and well cooked. When almost ready, gently warm the chocolate sauce and pour over the upright pears to serve.
Recipes taken from Nathan Outlaw’s Everyday Seafood (£20, Quadrille), photographs by David Loftus.
To order your copy, call the Express Bookshop on 01872 562310, send a cheque or postal order, made payable to The Express Bookshop, to Express Bookshop, PO Box 200, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4WJ, or order at expressbookshop.com.
