Pan-fried scallops with celeriac, apple and hazelnuts

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Paul Welburn's beautiful scallops recipe includes a wonderful mix of textures; from the plump and yielding scallops with their caramelised edges to crunchy hazelnuts, refreshing apple and silky smooth celeriac purée. Paul cooks the celeriac in two ways to best show off the versatility of this lesser-used vegetable.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Scallops

Salt-baked celeriac

Celeriac purée

Apple and hazelnut salad

Equipment

  • Blender

Method

1
Begin by preparing the salt crust for the baked celeriac. Combine the flour, salt and egg whites together in a large bowl and mix together to form a dough. Transfer to the fridge to rest for 30 minutes
2
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
3
Once rested, roll out the dough into a large circle with a thickness of 1cm. Wrap this around the whole celeriac, place on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until soft in the middle – use a temperature probe to check it has reached 70°C in the centre if unsure
4
Meanwhile, prepare the celeriac purée. Melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat, add the diced celeriac and sweat for 10 minutes. Pour over the milk and cream, then cover the pan with a cartouche and cook for 20–25 minutes until the celeriac is soft
5
Drain the celeriac – reserving the liquid – and transfer to a blender. Blitz the cooked celeriac to a purée, adding some of the reserved liquid if needed to create a smooth consistency. Pass the purée through a sieve, season to taste and reserve, keeping warm until ready to serve
6
Once the baked celeriac is soft and cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. Break apart the crust and discard the salt dough, then peel and dice the flesh. Place in a bowl with the olive oil, seaweed powder and a squeeze of lemon juice and mix to coat the cubes in the dressing. Set aside until ready to serve
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 pinch of seaweed, dried and powdered
  • 1/2 lemon
7
Peel and core the apple and cut into thin batons, add these to a bowl with the sea vegetables and roasted hazelnuts. Season and pour over the hazelnut oil, using a little more if necessary to completely coat everything as a dressing
8
Prepare the scallops by opening the shells with a small knife and removing the meat. Wash and clean these in cold water then dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the scallops, cooking on one side for 2–3 minutes until golden
9
Flip the scallops over and add the butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, then remove from the heat and allow to finish cooking in the residual heat from the pan for 1 minute. Season with a little salt and divide between serving plates
10
Add spoonfuls of the celeriac purée and pieces of the diced salt-baked celeriac to the plates and scatter over a generous serving of the apple and hazelnut salad

Paul Welburn has years of Michelin-star cooking behind him, holding a star for five years at restaurant W1.

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