food

Grilled Scallops with a Watercress, Hazelnut and Lemon Butter

Watercress, hazelnut and lemon provide the rhythm that allows these scallops to take a lead in this delightful seafood dish

food

Grilled Scallops with a Watercress, Hazelnut and Lemon Butter

Watercress, hazelnut and lemon provide the rhythm that allows these scallops to take a lead in this delightful seafood dish

Supplies

  • 6 king scallops, in their shell
  • 1 bag watercress
  • A handful of hazelnuts
  • 1 lemon
  • 150 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 30 milliliters olive oil
  • Crusty bread to serve

Steps

  1. Place two handfuls of watercress into a food processor with salt, pepper, the zest and juice of 1 lemon and the hazelnuts.
  2. Drizzle in some olive oil before blending to a paste. Add in the butter and blitz further to combine into a bright green butter - you can add more watercress at this stage.
  3. For the scallops, take a blunt knife and insert into the opening in the shell. Prize the shell open, and scrape with the blade along the flat side of the shell to release the muscle. Open the shell and pull the white scallop muscle from any orange or black tissue discard this tissue to leave just the muscle.
  4. Place the scallop back in the shell, score the top of the flesh about 2mm deep in a criss-cross pattern very gently and cover in butter. Place under a grill pre-heated to its highest temperature and cook for a maximum of two minutes or until the scallop is spongy to the touch.
  5. Once cooked, scatter some more watercress on top and serve with crusty bread.