Use a flat, regular cutlery knife to open the scallops. They can be difficult to open, and you need to put a lot of strength behind it, so using a blunt knife is safer – or alternatively ask your fishmonger to open them for you.
Remove the muscle that attaches the scallop to its shell, keeping the meat and the coral. Chop both of these into small cubes.
Cut the pancetta and prawns to the same size as the scallops and corals.
Put the olive oil into a pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the chopped scallops. Fry briefly just to get a little colour, then remove from the pan. Cook the prawns in the same way, then remove. Add the pancetta, leeks and shallots to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until soft.
Add the butter to the pan and melt on a low-medium heat, then stir in the flour to make a paste. Add the milk slowly, stirring, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of béchamel. Season to taste – the pancetta will have made it quite salty already. Mix in the chopped scallops, corals and prawns and stir in the parsley and chives. Taste and make sure it is well seasoned. Leave to cool.
Spoon the mixture into six scallop shells to completely cover them, and smooth the surface with the back of a knife. Place them on a baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
To make the crumble, mix together the panko, cayenne pepper, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the filled scallop shells – you don’t want it to be really thick, but you do want to cover the filling completely.
When the oven is hot, bake for 3–4 minutes or until the panko turns golden brown. Serve with little spoons.
