Christmas recipe scallops

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.......

In six days it will be Christmas, how the year has flown by. Christmas is for many people one big gathering, being together, and especially eating lots of delicious food at a beautifully set table, dressed in your best outfit.

But pooh, that ‘stress’ we can sometimes feel about it. What are our loved ones serving up? I'll help you a bit to get started with this delicious and oh-so festive appetiser, which will really steal the show for your guests. It doesn't take much time to make, just put all your love into it. Because ‘The secret ingredient is always love’.

Scallops with parsnip puree, crispy pancetta, truffle oil & parsnip crisps
Years ago I made this appetiser during Christmas, perfect for the time of year with the delicious ‘forgotten’ vegetable, parsnips. The combination of these flavours are delightful. The aniseed flavour of parsnip, the nutty flavour of the scallop, the saltiness of the pancetta and the crunch of the parsnip chips. I'll tell you how to prepare this dish and how to make it festive on the plate.

Preparation method

1. Start by frying the pancetta until crispy. Do this in a dry frying pan as the pancetta will naturally give off fat while frying. After the pancetta is crispy, put it on paper towel to get some of the fat off. Clean the pan and then pour a good amount of sunflower oil in the pan and fry the parsnip until light brown. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn. Drain the crispy parsnip on a paper towel.

2. Peel the parsnip with a peeler, then peel 12 long strips and set these aside. This is neccesary for later when you will deep-fry these into chips. Cut the rest of the parsnips into chunks. Peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic and fry them briefly in the pan with some olive oil. Add the parsnips and deglaze with a dash of dry white wine. Then add water so that the parsnips are just submerged. For some extra flavour, you can add a stock cube for extra flavour. Cook until the parsnip is completely soft. You can test this by pricking it with a fork. When the parsnip is cooked, drain and puree the parsnip with a hand blender until smooth. You can add a small splash of milk and a knob of butter to get velvety smooth puree. Season to taste with salt and some grated nutmeg. Leave the puree in the pan so it doesn't cool down.

Fact: If you also add potato to the parsnips, you cannot use a hand blender. Potatoes tend to become gluey in texture when used in an electric blender.

3. You can fry the scallops immediately after making the puree. Clean the scallops first, some scallops still have a piece that has been attached to the shell. Remove this piece. Pat the scallops dry with some paper towels. Put a knob of butter in the frying pan and fry the scallops briefly brown on both sides. Not too long otherwise the meat of the scallop will become tough.

4. Take a deep or breakfast plate and put one heaped tablespoon of parsnip puree in the middle of the plate. Spread the puree in a circular motion with the rounded side of the spoon. Place three scallops in the centre of the puree, drizzle some lemon juice on top and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and ground pepper from the pepper mill. Put the crispy crumbled pancetta on top of the scallops, and a little on the puree. Finally, put the parsnip chips on top and garnish with some sprigs of dill or parsley. Finally, to finish it off, pour a little splash of truffle oil around the puree.

TIP

The beauty of this delicious dish is that you can also make a vegetarian version of this. Instead of the pancetta you replace this with fried forest mushrooms and the scallops with king oyster mushrooms. You cut slices of about 1.5 to 2 cm thick from the stem of the king oyster mushroom. You put the discs in a layer of salted water for about an hour. Then you pat them dry and carve two horizontal and two vertical lines on the top and bottom of the King Oyster mushroom. Then you can follow the recipe as described above. The sautéed wild mushrooms replacing the pancetta should be blushed with some balsamic vinegar during frying.

Merry X-mas and enjoy this delicious appetiser

Bon appétit!

Love Jessica