This dish is taken from the critically acclaimed eight-course tasting menu, which has seen Adam and his team presented with three AA rosette status. The buttery softness of the scallop, the salty snap of the crackling (you could just use normal pork crackling if you don’t want to tackle the ears), the sweetness of the celeriac purée and the acidic bite of the capers makes it a fantastic seafood course or a light dinner on a summer evening.
Ingredients
8 scallops | 1 celeriac
2 pints of chicken stock | 2 pig’s ears | 150g capers
3 shallots | 1 dessert spoon of Dijon mustard | 30ml balsamic vinegar
100ml olive oil | 2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced into strips
Bunch of thyme
Method
1. Two days before serving, wash the pig’s ears well, trim away to leave only the soft areas and remove any hairs. Coat in table salt and leave overnight. The next day, wash the salt from the ears and boil for 4-5 hours, topping up water as required. Once cooked, press between two trays and refrigerate.
2. Peel and chop the celeriac into 2cm diced squares, then fry in butter and oil until lightly brown. Add a small sprig of thyme and a little seasoning, before covering with chicken stock and simmering until soft. Let it all cool, then liquidise and pass through a fine sieve. Reserve for later.
3. Shell the scallops if required – the fishmonger will often do this for you – discarding the roe and sack.
4. In a small frying pan gently cook the capers and shallots in olive oil until soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and the mustard and a few thyme leaves, stir, take off the heat and put to one side. At the same time, take the pig’s ears from the fridge, chop into thin strips, coat in a little corn flour and bake on a tray at 190 degrees centigrade until crispy.
5. To serve, warm the celeriac purée gently, checking whether it needs any more seasoning. Then get a frying pan hot and smoking, add a little oil and fry scallops until golden brown on the outside and translucent and warm in the middle. Spoon the celeriac purée in the centre of the bowl, then top with a scallop. Garnish with the caper dressing, the crispy pig’s ears and Granny Smith apple strips.
