THIS is a wonderful way to cook scallops and to serve up a restaurant quality dish on your dinner menu. Make sure they are Manx scallops which are fantastic at the moment.
Manx king scallops with chive cream sauce
12 Manx king scallops
60 g Manx butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 shallot, finely diced
1 small glass white wine
400ml fish stock
4 tbsp Isle of Man double cream
2-3 tbsps freshly chopped chives
METHOD:
1. Heat the butter and oil together gently in a small saucepan. Add the finely diced shallots and garlic and cook gently for a minute or so until soft. Turn up the heat and add the white wine.
2. Reduce the mixture until almost all the liquid has disappeared. Add the fish stock and reduce by half. Take off the heat and sieve the mixture - but crush the garlic and shallots to extract the flavour.
3. Return to the heat and add the cream. Reduce until a smooth consistency. Reduce the heat and add the chopped chives. Season to taste. Take off the heat and set aside.
4. Season the scallops with salt and black pepper. Heat a frying pan to a high heat and then add the oil. Cook the scallops for a maximum of 1-2 minutes on each side until just golden brown. Do not overcook. Remove and place onto a warm plate to rest.
4. To serve, position three scallops on each plate and pour over the chive sauce, adding a few freshly chopped chives on top to garnish. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Bill Dale, isleofman.com ©
