Andrew Fairlie's seared scallops, sea vegetables, yuzu purée and bonito broth

Two-Michelin-starred chef Andrew Fairlie of restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, in Auchterarder, showcases seasonal Scottish produce and Japanese influences with this dish

 

Ingredients
(Serves four)
4 large diver-caught scallops

 

For the yuzu purée
100ml yuzu juice
100ml water
30g sugar
3g agar agar

 

For the selection of sea vegetables
Marsh samphire
Sea purslane
Sea lettuce
Dulse
Channel wrack

 

For the scallop roe emulsion
100g scallop roe
Sea salt
100ml rapeseed oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
Tabasco

 

For the bonito broth
60g dried kelp (kombu)
900ml still mineral water
6g shaved bonito flakes
Light soy sauce to taste
Mirin to taste

 

For the scallop crackers
150g scallop meat
100g tapioca starch
50ml water
2 sheets of nori, powdered
Frying oil

 

For the scallop tartare
2 large scallops, cut into small dice
1tsp yuzu purée
Selection of mini cress, beech nut, shizo, salty fingers, coriander
Salt and pepper

 

For the garnish
Radish and apple slices

 

Method
To make the yuzu purée, add all the ingredients to a pan and whisk to above 85°C then set in the fridge. Once set, blend using a hand blender to obtain a smooth purée, adding a little water if needed. Place the purée in a plastic squeezy bottle.

 

To prepare the sea vegetables, wash them all separately. Blanch the sea lettuce, channel wrack and dulse for 15 seconds, refresh in iced water and drain on kitchen paper. Mix together with blanched samphire and sea purslane.

 

For the scallop roe emulsion, wash the scallop roe, season heavily with sea salt and refrigerate for 3 hours. Wash off the salt, dry, then smoke gently for 45 minutes. Leave to cool, then blend with lemon juice, adding the rapeseed oil in a steady flow to create an emulsion. Season with Tabasco. Place in a plastic squeezy bottle.

 

To make the bonito broth, pour water into a saucepan and heat to 60°C, add the dried kelp/kombu and hold at 60°C for 20 minutes. Add the dried bonito flakes and raise the temperature to 80°C then strain immediately through muslin. Season with light soy sauce and mirin.

 

To prepare the scallop cracker, blend the scallop meat, tapioca, powdered nori and water in a blender until it forms a smooth paste. Place the paste into a vac pac bag or between two sheets of plastic and roll out until 2mm thick. Place the paste, still in the bag, into the freezer until frozen.

 

Using a sharp knife, cut the paste into the desired shape, remove the plastic from the paste and place into a dehydrator at 57°C for 4 hours untill completely dry. Once dried, heat a pan of vegetable oil to 220°C and fry until the crackers puff up. Set aside on kitchen paper and season.

 

The scallop tartare is prepared by seasoning the diced scallop with yuzu purée, salt and pepper.

 

To serve, place the sea vegetables into a saucepan, add 3tbs of the bonito broth and heat gently; keep warm. Spread a thin layer of scallop tartare onto each cracker, squeeze a few dots of both scallop roe emulsion and yuzu purée onto tartare. Garnish with the cresses and very lightly season with salt.

 

Cut the remaining scallops in two and sear in a hot pan until lightly brown on both sides but still opaque in the middle.

 

Divide the warmed sea vegetables between four bowls. Squeeze a few dots of both the scallop emulsion and yuzu purée onto the vegetables. Place the seared scallops onto the vegetables.

 

Garnish with a few thin slices of radish and batons of green apple. Serve the hot bonito broth and the scallop cracker separately.

 

Watch Andrew Fairlie's video demonstration of this dish at www.caterersearch.com/video