Wood-fired scallops, parsley and garlic butter

The butter can be made in advance and kept for up to three months – it’s also good with steaks and grilled prawns. We prefer to cook with medium to large divercaught scallops from Orkney. Use the shells as the roasting dish, or a cast- iron dish makes a good substitute.

15 MINUTES + CHILLING | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | EASY

GARLIC BUTTER

flat-leaf parsley 25g, picked and blanched in hot water, plus 25g, finely chopped

unsalted butter 30g, melted, plus 220g, softened

pastis 25ml

Tabasco ½ tsp

garlic 5 cloves, finely chopped

SCALLOPS

scallops 12 medium-large

sea salt flakes panko breadcrumbs 40g

extra-virgin olive oil lemons 2, cut into wedges, for serving 1 To make the garlic butter, purée the blanched parsley with the melted butter in a blender, then add the pastis and Tabasco until it separates. Let it cool slightly in the fridge before mixing with the rest of the butter, 2 tsp of salt, the garlic and chopped parsley.

2 Tip the butter mixture onto baking paper and roll it into a log – the circumference of which should be big enough to cover a scallop. Twist the ends to seal and store in the fridge until it’s solid enough to slice.

3 In the meantime, remove the scallops from their shells along with the roes and the muscles that attaches them to the shells. Clean them by running under cold water and then pat dry.

If you’re using the shells, they also need to be cleaned before cooking – steam or boil them for a few minutes to make sure that they’re sterilised.

4 Once the shells and scallops are clean, put the scallops in the shells or a cast-iron pan with a thick slice of the garlic butter on top of each. Sprinkle over a little bit of sea salt and the panko breadcrumbs. Finally, drizzle with a little oil.

5 Put the shells or pan in a hot wood-fired oven or under a hot grill. They’ll take about 3-5 minutes to cook, depending on how hot your oven or grill is, and the size of your scallops. The scallops should feel firm and hot when touched and the breadcrumbs crisp. Once cooked, serve straight away with some lemon wedges for squeezing over.

PER SERVING 259 kcals | fat 20.7G saturates 11.4G | carbs 9.5G | sugars 0.9G fibre 0.7G | protein 7.1G | salt 1.8G