scallops and chorizo

Andy and I were in Bridge of Allan last Saturday and stopped in at Clive Ramsay's deli for lunch and a look round the shop. I picked up some amazing chorizo and decided that, inspired by a recent Masterchef clip I had seen, to do scallops and chorizo for Sunday dinner.


We got scallops from the Tesco fish counter - a new fishmonger has opened up in Dundee that I will need to try out but bad planning on my part meant we were reliant on what Tesco had to offer.

I also made the Moro inspired sweetfire beetroot salad that I have become a bit addicted to as an accompaniment with rosemary and garlic potatoes and a basic salad. That with some ciabatta to soak up the dreamy juices and we were both as happy as clams (and not as scallops!).


I made the potatoes first and popped them in the oven to keep warm as the scallops and chorizo need quick cooking. The beetroot can be prepared in advance too - just don't add the dressing until the last moment though else it will turn a bit too pink!

I cut up the chorizo and pan fried for about 5 minutes and until the orangey oil that chorizo holds started oozing into the pan. You don't need to have any oil in the pan to fry the chorizo as it has it's own wee store of it and you don't want to dilute the flavour.

I then removed the chorizo from the pan and added the scallops. The scallops cook in the chorizo oil and pick up the smokey flavour and orange colour. They took about 5 minutes to cook and I used five scallops each.

Then, for the last minute, add the chorizo and give the pan a good shake and stir.

To serve, I popped the scallops and chorizo, potatoes and salad on a plate, served the beetroot separate so you get to manage the pinky ooze, and we had pear cider to go with it. Not sure if pear cider would be the suggested tipple but it worked for us.


The chorizo was amazing - sweet and smokey with a tang of saltiness which really enhanced the meaty scallops. The beetroot gave a fresh, light and zingy contrast as chorizo and scallops are really quite heavy - certainly five scallops each was enough to make you very full. The potatoes I just love with anything and the garlic sat well with the scallops. Good bread is a must to soak up the orange juices on your plate - and to scoop up the yoghurt sauce from the beetroot.

To say we were satisfied understates how sated we felt at the end of the meal!