CARAMELISED BOUDIN NOIR, SCALLOPS AND
butternut pumpkin
with Herb Foam and Sherry Jus

1 butternut pumpkin

non-scented cooking oil

80 g (2¾ oz) unsalted butter

4 sprigs thyme

1 sprig rosemary

2 cloves garlic, roughly crushed

salt and freshly ground pepper

200 ml (7 fl oz) Pork Jus

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 kg (2 lb 2 oz) Butternut Pumpkin Purée

1 litre (2¼ pints) Herb Foam*

2 x Boudin Noir, each cut into 3 thick slices

few drops lemon juice

6 extra-large fresh scallops

fleur de sel

Use the Boudin Noir recipe or a good quality purchased one. Our boudin recipe is one that was developed with Raymond Blanc and is quite exceptional. The traditional savoury sausage base has been enhanced with the careful addition of spices, apples and braised meat from the pig’s head.

TO PREPARE THE PUMPKIN, begin by cutting it crosswise. For this dish you only need the thinner seedless end – use the bulbous end for another recipe. Peel the pumpkin and cut crosswise into 2 x 4 cm (1½ in) slices. Use a 4 cm (1½ in) pastry cutter to cut 3 smaller discs from each slice, so you have 6 in total.

Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add a splash of oil followed by the discs of pumpkin and cook gently on one side only, for about 5 minutes until lightly coloured. Now add the butter and cook over a medium heat until it foams – you want it to foam up over the pumpkin. Add the thyme, rosemary and garlic and season well. Lower the heat and cook the pumpkin for around 20 minutes, until tender and caramelised a deep golden-brown all over. Turn it around in the pan from time to time to ensure it colours evenly. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

WARM THROUGH THE PORK JUS with the sherry in a small saucepan and keep hot until required. Similarly, warm through the pumpkin purée and keep hot until ready to serve.

HEAT THE HERB FOAM and when hot, transfer to an espuma cream gun. Shake the can well and rest upside down for 15 minutes before use.

TO CARAMELISE THE BOUDIN NOIR, heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat, add a little butter and cook until it foams. Add the slices of boudin noir and season well. Gently caramelise on both sides and finish with a drop of fresh lemon juice.

TO CARAMELISE THE SCALLOPS, heat another large frying pan until nearly smoking. Season the scallops lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a splash of oil to the pan and add the scallops, flat side down. Sear for a few seconds then add a generous tablespoon of butter and heat to a nutbrown foam. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully turn the scallops over. Season again and add a few drops of lemon juice. Baste the scallops for a few more seconds. The whole process should take around 1 minute – you are aiming for scallops that are cooked medium-rare: caramelised and golden on the outside, but still translucent in the centre.

WHEN ALMOST READY TO SERVE, place a disc of pumpkin, a slice of boudin noir and a scallop on each plate. Decorate the plate with the pumpkin purée, the herb foam and the pork jus. Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel and serve immediately.

Serves 6 as an entrée

*Note: You will need to buy an espuma cream gun and gas canisters from a specialist cookery shop.