Scallops with Chorizo & Hazelnut Picada

Picada is a Spanish mixture – including nuts, bread or crushed biscuits – that acts as a thickener and often a heightener of flavours, added at the end of cooking time (most often to sautés). Here it’s just spooned on top of scallops before they’re grilled. The mixture of scallop, smoky chorizo, hazelnuts, sherry and coriander is excellent. If you’re using larger scallops, serve two per person – the cooking time will be a bit longer.

Serves: 4
Prep: 25 Minutes
Cook: 15 Minutes
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Ingredients

12 queen scallops, cleaned — and 4 clean scallop shells

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

80g chorizo, cut into small chunks

squeeze of lemon juice

30g butter

For the picada

1 tbsp olive oil

40g rustic bread (such as

sourdough), cut into 1cm cubes

2 garlic cloves, sliced

15g skin-on hazelnuts 1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander 1/4 tsp sherry vinegar

1 tbsp amontillado sherry

Directions

1. To make the picada, put 1/ 2 tbsp oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat. After a few mins, drop a piece of the bread in – if it sizzles, reduce the heat a little and add all the bread in a single layer. Fry, turning frequently, until the bread is pale gold, then spread it out on kitchen paper to cool. Add the remaining oil to the pan, fry the garlic until golden and add to the bread. 

2. Toast the nuts until fragrant (they should smell toasted), then rub in a tea towel while still warm to remove the skins. Blitz the bread and garlic with the nuts, lemon zest and coriander in a food processor using the pulse button (you want a coarse mix). Mix in the vinegar, sherry and salt , and add lemon juice to taste. 

3. Look at the scallops to find a little white bit at the side – this becomes tough when cooked, so cut it off. Pat the scallops dry with kitchen paper (they don’t colour well if you fry them when they’re wet ), and brush with extra virgin olive oil. 

4. Fry the chorizo in a little oil in a small frying pan until well coloured all over with a slight crust. 

5. Meanwhile, heat another pan until searing hot, add a small glug of oil , then the scallops. Season and cook for about 30 secs each side – you want just a little colour. Divide the scallops between the four shells, add the chorizo and top with the hazelnut mixture and a knob of butter. Put under a hot grill until cooked through (mine took about 90 secs). Squeeze on a little more lemon juice and serve immediately.

Per Serving:

275 kcals
21g fat
7g saturates
8g carbs
1g sugars
1g fiber 
12g protein 
1.5g salt

Recipe Credit: BBC Good Food