Scallops with leeks and dill

5.00

With succulent scallops always a favourite, Matt Worswick pairs with them the crunch of crispy chicken and the mild sweetness of leek. A recipe with a lot of technical processes, the end result is well worth the time.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Chicken wings

Crispy chicken skin

Chicken sauce

Dill oil

Leek purée

Buttermilk gel

  • 400ml of buttermilk
  • 350g of cream
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 4g of lecithin
  • 5g of agar agar

Equipment

  • Dehydrator

Method

1
First make the leek ash, blanch the greens of 2 leeks in boiling salted water for 4 minutes then refresh in iced water. Grill the leeks until charred but not burnt then place in a dehydrator overnight. Once completely dry blitz to a powder in a blender
2
For the chicken wings, mix them with the salt, thyme and garlic and leave for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 120°C/gas mark 1/2. Wash thoroughly and transfer to a dish and cover with the duck fat. Cook in the oven for 3 hours. Once cooked, carefully pull the two small bones out of the wings with fish tweezers. Chill on a flat tray until cold then pan fry just before serving in a non-stick pan until golden brown and crispy
3
For the crispy skin, preheat the oven to 180℃/gas mark 4, scrape the fat off the chicken skin until translucent, add salt, thyme and garlic and marinate for 1 hour. Wash the skins thoroughly and dry on kitchen paper. Place between two heavy trays lined with baking paper and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until crispy
4
To make the sauce, roast the chicken wings for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Next, reduce the alcohol to a syrup and then add the chicken wings, chicken stock and veal stock, and reduce to a sauce consistency. Pass through a muslin cloth
5
To make the dill oil, blanch the dill and the spinach in boiling salted water then refresh in iced water. Squeeze dry. Warm the oil slightly and blitz with herbs in a blender until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and leave to cool
6
For the leek purée, chop the whites of the leeks and sweat with the onions, garlic and butter in a frying pan then leave to cool. Blanch the greens of the leeks in boiling salted water and refresh in iced water. Blitz both parts together in a blender until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and season to taste
7
For the buttermilk gel, boil the buttermilk and cream until reduced by half, add the lemon juice, agar and lecithin and return to the boil then blitz in a blender. Pour the mixture onto a tray and leave to set in the fridge. Once set blitz until smooth in a blender and pass through a fine sieve
  • 400ml of buttermilk
  • 350g of cream
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 4g of lecithin
  • 5g of agar agar
8
Blanch the whites of the remaining leeks in boiling salted water until tender then refresh in iced water. Drain then cut into 4 pieces. Warm in a small saucepan when ready to serve
9
Heat a non-stick pan over a high heat, season the scallops and cook until golden brown, turn over and cook for 1 minute on the bottom.
10
To plate put a leek piece in the middle of each plate and arrange the scallops, chicken wings and crispy skin around. Pipe dots of the leek purée and buttermilk gel and spoon over the chicken sauce. Swirl around some dill oil. Sprinkle over some leek ash and serve

Matt Worswick has worked his way through some of the UK’s best restaurants, earning a Michelin star by the age of twenty-six.

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