Pan Fried Diver Scallops with Black Pudding

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This Pan Fried Diver Scallops dish combines perfectly seared scallops with an apple reduction, celeriac puree, crisp apple salad, and crispy black pudding rounds.

The recipe comes from chef Gary Durrant (formerly of The Arch London). The recipe was published in The Small Luxury Cookbook in 2018 and showcases the modern techniques being using in London. This dish has multiple components, but it’s not difficult to put together and it’s a gorgeous dish.

Pan fried scallops

During our travels, we are always looking for dishes we can bring back to our own kitchen and dinner table, so we can continue the experience at home. That’s the purpose of our Global Gourmet series – to help you recreate the dishes you loved while traveling.

London is one of the great food cities of the world. The UK in general has grown out of the bad rap it once had as a food culture consisting mostly of fish & chips and steak & ale pie. While those iconic dishes are still much loved, a new, more modern food culture has taken hold in the UK, especially in London.

How to Make Pan Fried Diver Scallops

While scallops aren’t an iconic ingredient of the United Kingdom, seafood of all kinds is ever present on menus and in markets. I personally love cooking with scallops because they are so versatile and easy to make. Check out this easy seared scallops recipe, if you’ve never cooked scallops before, to get the basics down before you tackle this more difficult one.

In this dish, scallops showcase the modern techniques and flavors you will find in London. They are combined with a silky puree, crunchy apple slaw and crispy black pudding slices.

To make the dish, you’ll need to create each of the components separately, then combine them in the final dish. It doesn’t take a long time to make each, and the dish will come together quickly.

Notes:

You need a strong blender to create a super smooth puree, but it’s pretty tasty even if you don’t have one, so don’t let that stop you.

Before you start cooking, be aware that this dish needs to be served right away. It’s not a dish you can easily make ahead. The scallops will need to be cooked and served immediately.

Step One: Silky Puree

The key to making such a refined puree is in the blending. If you don’t have a powerful blender, like this KitchenAid blender, it’s well worth the investment, especially for making silky smooth soups and purees.

  • To make the puree, cover the celeriac with the milk in a pan, bring to the boil, and simmer until the celeriac is cooked well and soft to the touch.
  • Strain through a sieve and blend the celeriac with butter until you have a very smooth puree – about 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper and keep warm.

Step Two: Apple Reduction

  • To make the reduction, place the apple juice in a pan and bring it to a boil.
  • Reduce it almost completely to a syrupy consistency, then stir in the cider vinegar.

Step Three: Apple Salad

  • For the apple salad, core, slice and cut the apple into fine strips.
  • Combine the apple strips with the frisée and pea shoots and lightly dress the salad with the olive oil and lemon juice.

Step Four: Sear the Scallops

  • Remove the scallops from the shell (if they were still in the shell), discard the roe and gently run the scallops under cold water to remove any grit.
  • Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with a little sea salt and black pepper.
  • Add cooking oil to a frying pan and place it on a high heat. When the pan is very hot, add the scallops and cook for roughly 1 minute on each side until nicely caramelized, then set aside.

Step Five: Black Pudding

  • Cut the black pudding into 6 rounds roughly 5mm thick.
  • Add some more cooking oil to the scallop pan and fry the black pudding rounds for about 30 seconds on each side.

Step Six: Assemble the Dish

  • To assemble the dish, drizzle the reduction on the bottom of warmed plates.
  • Spoon the celeriac puree in the center of the plate.
  • Place 3 scallops and 3 black pudding rounds alternately on the puree.
  • Top with the apple salad.
Pan fried scallops

About Black Pudding

While black pudding is readily available to buy at grocery stores in the United Kingdom, it’s not so readily available in the United States. You could try to make it yourself at home, but I’m not sure that’s necessary, or advisable.

If you’d like to give it a go, you can find a recipe for it here. If you’re not able to get ready-made black pudding, you can substitute it with sliced and fried pork sausage or croutons, or just omit it from the dish.

Black pudding
(photo CC4.0 by Varaine

We hope you love this dish as much as we did. It’s actually quite simple to make at home. There are a few separate components to make, but once you’ve got those taken care of, you can assemble the final dish and it’ll look like a gourmet meal prepared at home!

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Pan Fried Scallops
Yield: 2 servings

Pan Fried Diver Scallops with Black Pudding

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Pan fried diver sea scallops, black pudding, celeriac puree, Braeburn apple salad and glaze.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup celeriac, peeled and diced
  • 10 1/2 ounces semi-skimmed milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 7 ounces apple juice
  • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 1/2 Braeburn apple
  • 1/2 cup frisée salad, washed and picked
  • 1/2 cup pea shoots
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 6 medium diver scallops
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 4 ounces black pudding, loaf

Instructions

  1. Cover the celeriac with the milk in a pan, bring to the boil, and simmer until the celeriac is cooked well and soft to the touch. Strain through a sieve and blend with butter until a very smooth puree. Season with salt and black pepper and keep warm.
  2. To make the reduction, place the apple juice in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce almost completely to a syrupy consistency, then stir in the cider vinegar.
  3. For the salad, core, slice and cut the apple into fine strips. Combine with the frisée and pea shoots and dress with the olive oil and lemon juice.
  4. Remove the scallops from the shell, discard the roe and gently run the scallops under cold water to remove any grit. Pat dry with kitchen paper and season with a little sea salt and black pepper. Add a cooking oil to a frying pan and place on a high heat. When the pan is very hot, add the scallops and cook for roughly 1 minute on each side until nicely caramelized, then set aside.
  5. Cut the black pudding into 6 rounds roughly 5mm thick and fry for about 30 seconds on each side in the same pan.
  6. To assemble the dish, drizzle the reduction around warmed plates and spoon celeriac puree in the center. Place 3 scallops and 3 black pudding rounds alternately on the puree and top with the dressed Braeburn salad.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 683Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 837mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 11gSugar: 47gProtein: 28g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate. Use for averages only. (Note, the milk in this recipe is not consumed, which drastically lowers the calorie count.

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Pan Fried Diver Scallops with Black Pudding

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