Rosemary Shrager
Scallops in a paper bag with egg noodles and
ginger for 4
Ingredients:
8 Large scallops
2½ ounces (75g) fine egg noodles
2 shallots, finely diced
¼ lb. (100g) carrots cut into fine julienne strips
1 inch (2.5 cm) ginger root cut into fine julienne strips
4 spring onions cut into fine julienne strips
1 tbsp. chopped basil
½ cup fish stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp. butter
Olive oil
Seasoning
You will also need 4 sheets of parchment paper 10 x 15 inches
(25 x 38 cm) (greaseproof will do, but it is not quite as good).
Oven: 450ºF / 230ºC
Method:
Prepare the scallops, reserving the juice and frills, then slice
them in half horizontally, adding a little olive oil. Boil the noodles
until almost cooked. Soften the shallots in the butter with the
carrots, ginger and seasoning and cook them gently for three minutes.
Take them out and reserve them, leaving any juices in the pan to
which you now ass the juice and frills from the scallops, and the
fish stock. Bring to a boil and reduce it for a minute before adding
the cream. Strain it and pass it through a fine sieve. Fold the
basil into the noodles and season them, adding just a little of
the sauce to loosen the texture lightly.
Sear the scallops very rapidly in a dry pan. Make the paper parcels.
Using one sheet per person, fold the papers in half, widthwise,
to give them a crease, and open them up again. Pile up tiny quantities
of noodles, vegetables, sauce, and four slices of scallop per person
on one side of the fold. Fold the paper over the top and crimp it,
like a Cornish pasty. Cook them for five minutes. If you like, you
can pour in some sauce, and eat them straight from the paper bag.
Extras:
How to prepare scallops
You can buy scallops that have been already prepared by a fishmonger
- but if you can get them fresh in the shells, this is how to open
them!
Hold the scallop, flat side up in a thick cloth. Put the point
of a small, strong knife, into the gap near the hinge and twist
it sharply to open. Then take a long-bladed knife, and slide it
right across, just inside the flatter shell, severing the connecting
muscle that automatically opens the whole thing up. Scoop it from
the other half, with a similar action, keeping the contents intact.
On a board, cut off the frill (which is really the scallops' eyes)
and keep it for sauces. Discard everything except the pink roe and
the white meat.
Where to get scallops
If you can, buy the scallops that have been gathered by hand. This
is not just to do with the quality of the scallops themselves, because
divers can find them in places where dredgers cannot reach, but
dredgers do considerable harm to the ecology of the sea bed.
Cooking scallops
Never over-cook them - they need the briefest time imaginable, and
are even perfectly delicious eaten raw, finely sliced and dressed
with olive oil, pepper and lemon juice.
Sole Amhuinnsuidhe
This is our variant of a classic and spectacular dish. It works
just as well with lemon sole or with plaice. The first part is a
little fiddly, but the end result is well worth it. It can be prepared
well in advance.
I have used squat lobsters, the delicious little crustaceans, but
prawns are nearly as good. You can also use lemon sole or plaice.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 small plump Dover sole
38 squat lobsters or prawns, roughly-chopped
½ lb. (220g) salmon fillet, free of all skin and bone
1 ¼ cup double cream
1 egg white
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter, melted
For the sauce:
2 tbsp. wine vinegar
2 tbsp. white wine
10 tbsp. butter
¾ cup double cream
2 tbsp. dry vermouth
1 tbsp. chopped chives (for garnish)
Method:
Remove the head of each fist, fillet it by cutting through the skin
to the spine, then ease the fish off the bone with a very sharp
knife either side of the backbone. Then trim the smaller bones off
the sides of the fish, leaving just a little frill of bone to keep
the shape.
Arrange the filleted fish dark side up on buttered foil on a baking
tray, sprinkle it with salt inside and prepare the mousse. Put the
salmon into a food processor and process it for a minute. Add the
egg white, then, using the pulse button gently mix the cream and
salt. Sieve it a little at a time into a clean bowl and chill it
thoroughly in the fridge.
Spoon the mousse into the cavity of each fish (I often use a piping-bag
with a broad nozzle for this) and arrange the prawns or squat lobsters
along the top. Trickle melted butter over the top and cover the
whole thing in foil. Bake for 30 minutes (check after 25 - the mousse
should be firm to the touch). Meanwhile, make the sauce by reducing
the wine and the vinegar over a brisk heat until only about one
tablespoonful is left. Whisk in the butter little by little, then
stir in the cream and the vermouth and check the seasoning. When
the fish is ready, allow it to rest for a minute or two, lift the
skin off the top then discard it, along with the tail. Pour the
sauce over the fish and serve them sprinkled with chives.
Extras:
A good fish
When buying fish, look for one with the firm flesh, bright eyes
and very little smell.
Knives vs. Scales
Fish scales blunt your knives like anything so use them as little
as possible. Cut off the fins with scissors.
Danger Point
Do be careful when sieving the mousse: if you do too much at a time
the cream might curdle.
Serve with pasta.
Profiteroles with Chocolate and Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
2 cups (500ml) water
14 tbsp. (200g) unsalted butter
2 cups (250g) flour
7 whole medium eggs
Oven: 425ºF / 220ºC
Method:
Boil the water and butter together, mixing well. Remove from
the heat and add the flour. The mixture should come clean away from
the sides of the saucepan creating a thick roux. When cool, mix
the eggs one by one and use as required.
To make profiteroles, spoon the pastry into a piping bag and pipe
out circular rounds about two inches (5cm) apart, an inch (2.5cm)
in diameter and about half an inch (1.5cm) high. Wet the tip or
your finger and flatten the top very slightly (to make them round)
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. When you take them out
of the oven, pierce them with a knife (this allows steam to escape
and stops them going soggy).
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream, boiled
Melt the sugar gently in about 2 tbsp of water in a pan. Dip a
brush into cold water and gently brush the sides to stop the crystallizing.
Bring the sugar to a caramel color. Now add the boiled cream stirring
slowly, because it will boil very easily. Pour into a jug.
Rich Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients:
7 ounces (200g) best bitter chocolate
2/3 cup (150ml) milk
2 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. butter, diced
Method:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Bring the milk cream and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Cool slightly
and pour in the melted chocolate. Heat again turn off the heat and
add the butter gradually.
Extras:
Eclairs
You can make all sorts of things from choux pastry. Rather than
profiteroles, try making eclairs. Prepare the pastry in exactly
the same way but pipe them out into sausages, not rounds.
Caramel Sauce Danger Point
When heating the cream be careful not to let it burn.
Stop Skin Forming
This is a trick that stops skin forming on any sauce - so you can
prepare it in advance, keep it and then simply re-heat it when you
need it. When the sauce is ready, pour it into a bowl and cover
it with kitchen wrap. But don't cover the top of the bowl, push
the kitchen wrap down so it touches the surface of the sauce and
covers it completely.
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