Scallops on puff pastry with aged cider vinegar and dill

Puff pastry and scallops go extremely well together.  They make this dish an interesting and exquisite starter.  It does not stop there!

There is a wonderful combination of flavours – the buttery puff pastry, an intense creamy sauce and the sweet scallops.

The recipe is easily adapted (with smaller pastry discs) to make a delicious canapé.

Preparation Time: 10 Mins

Cooking Time: 25 Mins

Total Time: 1½ Hrs

Ingredients

For 2 servings…

110 gms           Puff pastry

                     Flour        

30 gms            Butter       

4                    Scallops  - sliced in half, horizontally      

                     Pepper  - freshly ground, white 

                     Salt          

1 tbs               Vinegar  - aged cider 

3 tbs               Stock  - fish or chicken

½ tsp              Dill  - chopped        

1 tbs               Cream  - double       

To garnish

                     Dill  - sprigs

Method

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out two 10 cm discs.  Prick them all over with a fork, place them on to a lightly greased baking sheet and chill them for 1 hour.

Heat an oven to 200°C.

Remove the tray of pastry discs from the fridge, lightly grease the underside of a second baking tray and rest it on top of the discs.  Bake them for 20 minutes remove them from the oven and keep them warm.

Rub the bottom of a frying pan with a little of the butter and cut the remainder into small pieces.

Put the pan on a high heat and as soon as the butter begins to smoke, add the scallop slices and sear them for 30 seconds on each side - seasoning them with a little salt and pepper as they cook.  Lift them onto a plate and keep them warm.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the cider vinegar and stir with a wooden spatula to lift all the caramelized juices from the pan.  Return the pan to the heat, add the stock and bring back to the boil.  Whisk in the butter pieces a few at a time and then stir in the dill and cream.  Season to taste.

Put the discs of puff pastry on the centre of each plate and pile the scallop slices on top. Drizzle a little of the sauce over the scallops and the rest around the outside of the plate.  Garnish with the dill sprigs.

Wine recommendations

          An aromatic white wine.

  Conventional

           Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur lie

  Interesting

           Bordeaux sauvignon

           Entre-deux-Mers

           Jurançon sec

           Txakoli

  Adventurous

           Crémant de Bordeaux