A variation of a dish I remake every Autumn. When you have ingredients as good as fresh scallops, local pancetta and pumpkins that are perfectly in season, there’s really not a lot you have to do to make a very tasty plate of food.
Scallops, Pancetta & Pumpkin
Categories autumnRecipe Method
Slice the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and strings, season with salt & pepper, roast in the oven at 200˚C/180˚C Fan for 1 hour.
Pat the scallops dry and season with salt.
Slice the pancetta into thin strips.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven, allow to cool slightly and then remove the outer layer. Mash the pulp with 30g butter, 30ml cream and a pinch of salt. Season to taste with more butter, cream and salt before passing the puree through a sieve. Keep warm until serving.
Add the pancetta to a cold pan over a low heat. Allow the pancetta to gently render and crisp up in its own time. Don’t go higher than a medium heat. Remove and rest on kitchen paper.
Increase the heat to high and sear the scallops on both sides, adding a knob of butter to the pan just before you turn the scallops for the first time. Baste the scallops in the butter. Remove the scallops when nicely coloured on both sides. Try not to cook them for longer than 4 minutes.
Add a bit more butter to the pan and remove from the heat.
Plate up by adding a good amount of puree to the centre of the plate, top with the scallops, a slice of pancetta, a drizzle of the butter from the pan and finally a small squeeze of lemon.