It doesn’t happen very often… But I came home from an awful day at work one night this week so find Mr J had made my favourite. Scallops and black pudding with pea purée; to be honest he’s just watched two whole seasons of Gordon Ramsey’s Hells Kitchen on Netflix in a row so now thinks he’s a master chef. Bless.
This is what he presented me with, I was so impressed. He simply knocked up a pea purée using frozen peas and a bit of mint, then blitzed it in the food processor until it was smooth-ish. He sliced the black pudding and fried it in s bit of olive oil for about 30 on each side, then seared the scallops in the black pudding oil. The trick with scallops is that they should be cooked for no more than two minutes on each side – any less and they’ll be raw, any more and they’ll turn to rubber.
It’s nice to have your other half cook dinner for once, I normally don’t mind cooking dinner every night but somedays when I really don’t feel like standing at the oven, Mr J will step up and usually produce something well thought out.
This would work great as a starter for a dinner party; the subtly fishy, slightly sweet tasting scallops against the rich meaty black pudding is a massive contrast that just works on the palette, and the pea purée just adds a dash more sweetness that ties each mouthful together. Beautiful. We have a bag of good quality scallops in our freezer for fish soups and pasta dishes – a little on the small side (the black pudding mammoths the scallops entirely on this plate) but they have a lovely flavour, and well worth the money.
I could say I’d get used to having my dinners cooked for me every night, but I actually enjoy it. Plus, I’d have nothing to talk about here if I did!
Signing off.
penne for my thoughts 