Gill Meller
LATIN NAME
King scallop: Pecten maximus. Queen scallop: Aequipecten opercularis
SEASONALITY
King scallop: avoid April–September when spawning. Queen scallop: avoid in spring and autumn when spawning
HABITAT
Main scallop-fishing areas around the British Isles are the English Channel, Isle of Man, West of Scotland and Moray Firth
MCS RATING
2–4
REC MINIMUM SIZE
King scallop: 10cm shell width (minimum landing size in some areas is 11cm). Queen scallop: 4cm shell width (minimum landing size in some areas is 5cm)
MORE RECIPES
John Dory with creamed radicchio
SOURCING
Scallop divers hand-pick mature specimens from the seabed without damaging their ecologically rich territory. They do need a licence to sell their catch, but beyond that this form of fishing is largely unregulated and relies on good self-management – as well as the natural limitations imposed by time, water and weather – to be ecologically sound. However, when practised responsibly, it is a highly sustainable form of fishing.
It’s a very different story for most scallops, which are dredged – raked up by heavy, sharp-toothed gear – which has huge repercussions in terms of damage to and destruction of marine flora and fauna. In some fisheries, measures are in place to limit the impact of dredging: the closure of certain sections of seabed, for instance, or restrictions on the size of the dredging equipment. Some would argue that carefully managed dredging is sustainable: there’s even a scallop dredge fishery off Shetland that has been certified by the MSC. But hand-dived scallops remain the best option.
Scallops are so compactly meaty because they are all muscle. Unlike many other shellfish, they are very mobile, moving often underwater to find the best places for hoovering up plankton. The function of that big white puck of meat is to open and close the shell and propel the scallop forward. A ‘flock’ of scallops speeding along in this way is one of the most magnificent sights of the seabed.
The filtering frill or mantle around the edge of the scallop muscle holds a fringe of photoreceptors. These primitive eyes can sense if a shadow passes and the scallop then uses its jet propulsion to escape danger. The vibrantly coloured coral, meanwhile, is the scallop’s formidable, all-in-one sexual organ. The orange-pink tip contains up to 100 million eggs whilst the creamy part contains the sperm. Both are released into the sea at different times and places so this hermaphrodite doesn’t mate with itself.
As a scallop grows and fattens, it adds rings of growth to its shell. However, if disturbed, it will divert energy to forming extra shell. The best scallops are heavy in their shell, indicating that they have lived a relaxed life, and more of their energy has gone into building up meat.
If you are lucky enough to get scallops live and super-fresh in the shell, they are amazingly sweet. In this condition, they are delicious served raw: just slice the muscle into thin rounds and season with lime juice, a little sugar, freshly chopped coriander and a pinch of salt. However, due to complex processing regulations that make it easier and cheaper for fishmongers to sell them ‘cut’, you are more likely to buy them already released from the shell and therefore dead. Cut scallops can still be sublime, as long as they are very fresh – but I wouldn’t serve them raw.
Scallops are best cooked very simply. Oil them lightly and flash-fry on a griddle or hot frying pan for about 1 minute on each side, or cook them quickly in butter with a whisper of garlic. You can keep the orange roe attached if you like to eat it (it has a rich flavour and velvety texture), though if the scallops are super-big you may want to cut off the coral so it is easier to get it into contact with the hot pan to cook properly.
Cooking should be done with a high heat, long enough to form a speckled golden crust on the outside of the scallop while leaving it barely cooked within – the centre should be just hot and have lost its pearly translucence. Serve simply with lemon juice and herbs or with cured pork; or barbecue scallops on skewers with chunks of chorizo; or fry chorizo in a pan and cook the scallops in the spicy oil it releases.
If you are buying live scallops in the shell, store them rounded side down in the fridge for no more than a couple of days. The shell will be shut tight at first but may well open up a few centimetres over 48 hours. To open or shuck the scallop, you need a thin-bladed knife with a little flex to it, such as a filleting knife. Hold the shell vertically, round edge down, hinge at the top, on a board, with the flat side of the shell facing towards you. Find an opening partway down the side of shell and wangle the knife-tip in. The idea is to keep the knife tight to the flat of the shell and cut down through the muscle at the point it meets the shell. With luck and practice, the shell will open and the scallop remain whole.
You need to get rid of the black sac of guts at the back of the scallop, plus a small strand of black intestine, as these can harbour toxins. Make a little incision just behind where the orange roe joins the white meat and peel away the unwanted parts, leaving the roe with the main muscle. Trim off and discard the two frilly pieces of mantle. Chefs also tend to cut off the small piece of tough, extra-white muscle on the edge of the more tender flesh. Rinse the scallops and pat dry.
If you are buying your scallops ready-shucked, look for ones that haven’t been frozen at sea and are still attached to their orange-and-tan coral.
Most scallops are taken from the wild although scallop ‘ranchers’ do exist: licensed individuals who have been granted rights to the shellfish in a certain area. Ranchers will place their scallops in a good situation, both for feeding and harvesting.
In Britain, we favour king scallops, which are found all around our coast. These can live for 20 years but generally reach their legal size for landing at around 4 years. Kings are generally best in the colder months before they spawn and their bisexual tackle shrivels. Smaller and shorter-living queenies are especially abundant near the Isle of Man, where they are caught by otter-trawl when they swim off the seabed between June and October. Often exported, otter-trawled Manx queenies have been MSC-certified in the past but certification is currently suspended because stocks are too low.
SCALLOPS WITH CAULIFLOWER PURÉE AND GREEN PEPPERCORNS
This combination of sweet, seared scallops, silky cauliflower and zesty green peppercorns is amazing. A purée of peas or broad beans works beautifully here too. Serves 2 as a starter
25g butter
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
½ small onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
½ small cauliflower (about 200g), trimmed and roughly chopped
Leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
150ml whole milk
A few drops of cider vinegar
6 scallops
2 tsp green peppercorns in brine, drained
Sea salt and black pepper
Put a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat and add half the butter and half the oil. When bubbling, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelise a little. Now add the cauliflower and the thyme and season with a little salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for a further 3–4 minutes.
Pour in the milk, bring to a simmer, place a lid on the pan and cook for 6–8 minutes until the cauliflower is tender (don’t worry if the milk looks a little grainy). Take off the heat and use a stick blender in the pan (or transfer to a jug blender) to purée the cauliflower until smooth. Add the cider vinegar and more salt or pepper as required. Keep warm.
Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the remaining oil and, when the pan is hot, add the scallops. Season them with salt and pepper and cook for about 1 minute on each side or until they have a nice golden crust. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining butter and the green peppercorns. Swirl them around in the pan as the butter melts.
Put a couple of spoonfuls of cauliflower purée on each warmed plate. Top with the scallops and spoon over the green peppercorn butter. Serve at once.