Treasure from the Deep

October 27th - I just decided to call in on a friend after work for a bit of a catch up - resolving to make more time for my friends - and she gave me a bag of hand-dived scallops! What a treat! Definitely one of the benefits of living on an island off the west coast of Scotland.  An ideal opportunity to try out something new, although it was very tempting to have scallops and black pudding, which is such a fab combination.  So I turned to Annabel Langbein and there was a lovely recipe for Asparagus, Snow Pea (aka mangetout) and Scallop Salad. The asparagus and mangetout were lightly steamed. The scallops were mixed with lemon zest and seasoned with salt and pepper and a bit of sugar.  Apparently the sugar helps the scallops to caramelise without overcooking.  The scallops were cooked in olive oil for less than a minute each side (they were quite large). The veg and scallops were arranged on a bed of rocket and avocado and the whole lot drizzled with a citrus chilli dressing (4 tablespoons each of  orange, lime and lemon juice with a teaspoon of vinegar, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a tablespoon of sugar, pepper and a finely chopped red chilli) Wow - not your average midweek supper.....