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Masterchef winner Natalie Coleman Cooks The Perfect...Scallops

Natalie Coleman became well known for testing out her recipes on her Grandad. Seafood is one of his favourites and this recipe proved to be a winner both with her Grandad and the Masterchef judges.

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Ingredients

For the beetroot purée and wedges:
41/2 cooked natural beetroots, peeled
Juice of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
Olive oil

For the vinaigrette:
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar  

For the samphire:
50g samphire
Olive oil

For the scallops:
12 diver-caught scallops, cleaned, without roes
Olive oil, for frying
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
A good squeeze of orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste

To garnish:
Micro coriander
Zest of 1 orange

Preparation Method

For the beetroot purée and wedges:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Put the whole beetroots into a bowl with the orange juice and coriander seeds and turn to coat. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Make a foil parcel and place the beetroots inside, then drizzle over some olive oil and a little of the marinade (reserve the remainder for the vinaigrette). Season with salt and pepper, then close the parcel and set on a baking tray.

Roast for 20-25 minutes.

Reserve one and a half of the beetroots for the wedges. Chop the other three beetroots into rough 3cm chunks and put into a food processor with the juices from the foil parcel. Blitz to a purée, adding a little olive oil if the purée is too thick. Pass through a sieve into a pan and set aside ready to reheat for serving.
Make sure you check the seasoning and adjust if needed.
Cut the reserved beetroots into 12 wedges. Set aside until needed.

For the vinaigrette:
Strain the reserved beetroot marinade. In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons of the strained marinade with the olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

For the samphire:
Drop the samphire into a pan of boiling water and blanch for 1-2 minutes – you want the samphire still to have bite. Drain and place in a small mixing bowl. Dress the samphire with a little olive oil. Season with a crack of pepper only, as samphire is naturally salty. Set aside.

For the scallops:
Put the scallops in a mixing bowl, drizzle on a little olive oil and add the coriander seeds. Mix well. Heat a frying pan and, when hot, place the scallops in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. When they are nearly cooked, add a good squeeze of orange juice to deglaze.

To serve:
Make a teardrop of beetroot purée on each plate and set the scallops on top. Add the wedges of beetroot, samphire and drizzles of vinaigrette and garnish with micro coriander. Finish by grating the orange zest over the plates.

Tips and Techniques

Make sure the pan is very hot for the scallops. You can also cook them with a chef's blow torch, just char on each side until cooked.

Rinse the samphire well and pick or snip the tip of it off as this can often be stringy.

Marinate the beetroot to allow the flavour to deepen, 10 minutes is the minimum but longer will be better.