This was a birthday treat to myself. I love scallops but don’t cook them often as Him Outdoors is lukewarm about them; I’m almost as fond of morcilla, the Spanish form of black pudding; the cauliflower puree I could eat with a spoon from the pan (and did).
It was a particularly satisfying dish to eat because we’d helped make the morcilla ourselves, at a Catalan cooking day in London we’d attended as part of Him Outdoors’s birthday celebrations last year. (Fear not, it’s been in the freezer since.)
I’ll come back to the morcilla-making process in a later post, with suitable warnings up front for vegetarians and the squeamish, as I’m aware that not everyone shares my passion for what used to be known as blood pudding.
In the meantime, as sausage-making is not something you’re likely to want to tackle after a long day at work, I suggest you buy some morcilla from your local Spanish deli, or use a good old English black pudding instead.
The morcilla and the scallops cook in minutes. The cauliflower puree is as easy as pie (easier actually). And you’ll end up with a restaurant-quality dish, perfect as a starter or light supper.
Scallops With Morcilla and Cauliflower Puree
Ingredients:
6 king scallops, with or without coral
Enough black pudding or morcilla to cut into 6 equal sizes
1/2 head of cauliflower
About 400 ml semi-skimmed milk
1 bay leaf
20g grated parmesan
15g butter
Salt and pepper
Method:
First make the cauliflower puree: separate the cauliflower into small florets and put them with the bay leaf and milk into a saucepan with a pinch of salt. Simmer until the cauliflower is soft.
Strain the cauliflower, reserving the cooking liquid but discarding the bay leaf.
Puree the cauliflower with about 250 ml of the liquid until you have a smooth puree. Add more liquid if necessary.
Stir through the parmesan, season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm. Put your plates somewhere to warm.
Slice the morcilla or black pudding and sear quickly on each side in a little oil in a hot pan. Keep warm.
Season your scallops on one side, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan until sizzling and put the scallops in, seasoned side down.
Cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of your scallops, until lightly browned.
Then season their tops and flip them over to cook the other side, another 2-4 minutes.
Add the butter to the cauliflower puree and stir through, reheating if necessary.
To assemble: put a shmear of cauliflower puree on your plate, just like they do it on the telly, then arrange your scallops and morcilla attractively on top. Serve at once.
That looks great. I do love black pudding and have never heard of Morcilla, look forward to post about making that!!
Thank you. Definitely one to nauseate the vegetarians, I’m afraid! I love it though.
It looks amazing. Scallops and black pudding are a match made in heaven.
Thank you! I could have eaten it twice but sadly Him Outdoors insisted on eating his own share. Didn’t leave me so much as a scallop coral.
Happy birthday! (for whenever it was/is) This looks like a real treat. I do like black pudding although never the idea of it; this week I went to Borough Market and bought some cured blood sausage that was described as ‘basically cured black pudding’. It’s amazing, can’t stop stuffing it down. Scallops too, yum.
Oh, yum, that sounds good. By cured, did they mean smoked? Or air dried or what? (Him Outdoors is promising to build a cold smoker…)
Air-dried! here is it – really delicious. http://boroughmarket.org.uk/product-of-the-week-black-chorizo
I used to live in North Yorks- beautiful but sometimes bleak.Compared to Teesside where I worked (sorry, Teessiders, it was a long time ago) it was a joy to cross over onto the moors every night on the way home.
I wonder if the butcher in Great Ayton still makes the same amazing pork pies? You used to have to carry them home really carefully because they were so freshly made the jelly hadn’t set.
And that black chorizo looks amazing – the morcilla we made had chilli and other spices in too … really good.
And thank you, on both counts.