King Scallops and Pancetta with Samphire and Peas

Fishboxer Dawn Waldron from

Ingredients

•  250g king scallops, rinsed with roes intact
•  70g cubed pancetta
•  ½ red chilli
•  200g fresh or frozen peas
•  100g fresh samphire
•  1 tbsp butter
•  10g fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
•  2 tbsp single cream

Salt and black pepper (to taste

Method

1.  Approx. 45 mins before you want to eat, put the pancetta, chilli and rosemary into a small, shallow frying pan over a low heat.
2.  Allow the pancetta to render, releasing its fat and turning a rich mahogany colour, whilst picking up the aroma and flavour of the  rosemary and chilli.
3.  Just before you are ready to eat, place the peas and samphire in a pan, cover with boiling water and  cook for 3 mins. Drain the peas and samphire.
4.  Whilst the samphire and peas are cooking, add the butter to your bacon pan and turn up the heat.
5.  When the butter starts to foam, add the scallops to the pan and cook them for approx. 4 mins, turning them halfway through so that they pick up some colour on both sides. Ensure the whites are no longer translucent.
6.  Add the peas and samphire back to the pan and swirl in the cream.
7.  Remove the scallops from the heat, add a twist of black pepper and serve side by side with the peas and samphire.

Tip: If you want to add some extra flavour, deglaze your scallop pan with a slug of dry  sherry or add fresh herbs e.g. dill, basil, parsley etc to the samphire and peas.