Coquilles St Jacques, smoked paprika butter

Serves: 2
Course: Starter
Cooking Time: 1 hr 0 mins

Ingredients

  • 500g potatoes, peeled and halved
  • 150g butter, diced
  • 50mls milk
  • 50mls cream
  • Salt and white pepper
  • 4 large scallops, if they are small, use 8 (I like the roes on but remove if you wish)
  • Juice of half an orange
  • 1/3tsp smoked paprika
  • A sprig of rosemary
  • 2tbsp breadcrumbs (panko if possible)

1 Boil the potatoes, then drain them in a colander until they stop steaming. Put the potatoes back into the pot and mash thoroughly; the more you work them, the lighter they will be. If you have a ricer, that would be perfect.

2 Add one-third of the butter, and the milk and cream to the mash, then season. Bring everything together as smoothly as you can, then transfer into a piping bag with a medium-sized plain nozzle. If you don't have a piping bag, you can put the potatoes in a small sturdy plastic bag and cut the corner off (no nozzle needed). It works.

3 Pipe the potatoes as neatly as you can around the edge of the scallop shell, if using.

4 Trim the membrane from the scallops, rinse under cold water, then pat them dry. Place the scallops in the centre of the potatoes on the shells, and put them in the fridge until you're ready to cook them.

5 To make the sauce, bring the orange juice, paprika and rosemary up to a gentle simmer, then whisk in the remaining butter. When it's all incorporated, remove the rosemary and leave the sauce to one side in a warm place.

6 When you are ready to serve, set your grill to high. Put the scallops on a tray, season them and spoon a tablespoon of the orange butter over each scallop, followed by a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.

7 Grill the scallops for four minutes, then check them, they overcook easily so err on the side of caution. It's more important to have perfect scallops than golden potatoes. If they are large scallops, they might take a minute more. They should still be soft to the touch and have turned from opaque to white. Serve immediately.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford