Whisky Seared Scallops

We don’t eat nearly enough of our own shellfish in the British Isles, which is a crying shame as we have some of the best in world. Instead it gets shipped twenty miles south to the French who turn it into the sublime, whilst we on home shores make do with cod, haddock, plaice or sole. These are all great fish in their own right, don’t get me wrong, however our general ignorance and frequent stubbornness as a nation of consumers has, over time, channelled us into a rather unadventurous set of fishy doldrums, humoured occasionally by squalls of ‘smoked salmon’ masquerading as faux-swanky-canapés during the small talking foretaste to a dinner party.

‘The Big Fish Fight’ has attempted with some success, to bring back our home grown produce to the tables of Britain, however there is still a long way to go before we are regularly eating mussels for instance. The coast of Britain harvest some of the best in the world yet you’re lucky to find a single bag in Tesco, and if you do they’re more than likely frozen, or worse still ready cooked in a plastic pot. Then there’s the lonesome Cornish clam, Waitrose is the only super market I’ve found that stocks them and even then you quite often have to pre-order.

“But they’re expensive and a hassle”, I hear people say.

Wrong on both counts in fact; you can quite happily feed a family of four with a huge bag of mussels for under a fiver and they cook in five minutes. Cream, leeks, butter, crusty bread, boom. Next question?

There is really no excuse for being selfish to the shellfish, the furthest geographical point away from the sea in the UK is Church Flats Farm near Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire, and that’s only 70 miles from the bountiful Norfolk Wash. So with the planned raise of the national speed limit from 70 to 80mph, you could stay with Henry and Joyce Blackwell in the evening and try some of their home grown lamb, and the following day scream down to Skeggy for a spot of fishing. Perhaps even stay at Butlins, if that’s your vibe?

I conclude then; when Hugh Grant spoke of Britain being “A great country, a country of Shakespeare, Churchill, The Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter, David Beckham’s right foot, David Beckham’s left foot come to that”, he should have spared a word or two for our mussels, our cockles, our clams and our scallops.

Rule Britannia.

 Ingredients: (Serves 4)

20 British scallops, coral on or off, your choice, I like it

3 British shallots, finely sliced

A slug or two of Scottish whisky

Healthy knob of English butter

Olive oil, European but from one of the colonies

Handful of curly British parsley, finely chopped

Method:

1. Using a sharp knife graze some shallow cross hatching into one side of the scallops. Heat a little oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium high heat and sear the scallops for a minute or so on either side. Throw in a wee drab of whisky and using a match, light the pan, it will flambé instantly and rather vigorously so take care not to set light to yourself. Let it burn for a few seconds, actually 3, then blow it out and take the scallops out of the pan and onto a plate.

2. Return the pan to the heat and add a little more butter and oil, when it’s sizzling chuck in the shallots and fry them till soft. Chuck another wee drab of whisky in and set alight to it, again let it burn off for a few seconds. Now add the cream and mix it in thoroughly whilst still cooking. It’ll make a beautiful golden sauce. After another minute chuck in the parsley, stir it around, take it of the heat, plate up the scallops and pour the sauce on top. I actually returned the scallops to the pan when doing my second lot and tossed them in the sauce before serving. It gave them a real good coating.