A staple at number two in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs, the dish might seem simple but “every element is doing something,” Palmer-Watts explains.
“The diver caught scallops come in the shell and are sourced from David Lowrie in the Shetlands, our Devonshire bacon is made in our in house butchery by head butcher George Donnelly, using Iberico pigs raised in Shropshire by Chef Brett Graham.”
“It lands as three scallops in the half shell, with bacon and a butter sauce lifted with aged malt vinegar from Cornwall, then finished with a generous spoon of bread crumbs toasted in pork fat, with parsley and lemon for freshness.”
The dish is priced at £18 with a total production cost of £6.80 per serving.
Roast scallops, bacon and malt vinegar (serves 2)
For the malt vinegar base
- 60g aged malt vinegar
- 10g sugar
- 10g salt
- 20g lemon juice
Method:
Place the aged malt vinegar, sugar and salt into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer
Whisk until the sugar and salt have fully dissolved, then allow to cool
Add the lemon juice and mix well
Store the base in the fridge until required (keep for four weeks in a sealed jar)
For the malt vinegar emulsion
- 30g malt vinegar base
- 85g butter (cut into cubes)
Method:
Place the malt vinegar base into a small pan and heat to a simmer
Reduce the heat down and add butter by whisking in 1-2 cubes at a time
Once all the butter has been fully emulsified, remove from the heat and reserve
To make the scallops, bacon and malt vinegar
- 6 scallops
- 6 half scallop shells
- 18 unsmoked bacon lardons
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- Malt vinegar emulsion
- Ground nut oil for frying
- Salt for seasoning
Method:
Clean the scallop shells and run through dishwasher
Place a frying pan over medium to high heat, drizzle oil over the scallops and turn over to coat evenly, season with salt
Carefully place into the hot pan and cook until the first side is golden in colour. Turn the scallops and add the bacon to the pan, cook on the second side whilst the bacon starts to colour
To serve
Arrange three shells on a plate and when the scallops are evenly cooked, remove from the pan and place a scallop onto each shell. Season with a little black pepper.
Once the bacon has a light golden colour, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the malt vinegar butter. Add chopped parsley and gently warm through,
Place three bacon lardons around each scallop and a generous spoon of the malt vinegar over the scallops, servce with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a spoon of breadcrumbs.
To take part in The MA’s Dish Deconstructed series, please contact phoebe.fraser@wrbm.com.
