Niamh Shields' quick & delicious dinners & treats

Niamh Shields burst onto the blogging scene in 2007 and has since snapped up countless accolades for her food writing by The Times, The Telegraph and The Stylist, to name a few. Niamh is passionate about cooking, and when she's not travelling the world collecting culinary tips, she's at home concocting new and interesting meals for friends and family, including her foody fledgling niece. Here, Niamh shares all her know-how for delicious and easy home-cooking.

A little Indulgence with chorizo, smashed pea, mint & scallops

By Niamh Shields on 20 Oct 2011 No comments

We don’t eat enough fish. We really don’t. I don’t know why for islanders we have such an aversion to it and why it is so difficult to source good fresh fish.

Of course there are great fishmongers and we need to support them. Fish is so good for us, healthy and quick too cook too. It’s an ethical minefield but your fishmonger will advise what’s good to eat. Ethical fish is often inexpensive too, there’s a lot of fish which we usually don’t eat – and therefore over fish – that tastes great too.

Now, you hear scallops and you probably think 'eeeek, they’re so expensive!' And they are. Especially if you buy the ones that don’t harm the sea floor and taste better – and please do buy hand-dived scallops from your fishmonger if you can. However, there are ways of serving a scallop dish where it becomes a bit of a bargain. And that is to serve them with other ingredients that suit and also bring down the cost of the over all dish.

This dish is a perfect starter or grazing snack if you have friends round. One large scallop will do per person, and will feel so luxurious that everyone will be happy. Serve with a crisp white wine on cold winter night and remember summer while you toast your toes in front of the fire. Of course you can also serve it as a main or just make a lot for yourself.

Chorizo is a dream with scallops. It’s bolshy big, strong and is a perfect partner with the more delicate scallop, and in small amounts it doesn’t overwhelm. The sweetness and delicacy of the humble pea – and frozen is fine – pitches in perfectly, and some fresh mint livens it all up. Some onion serves as a gentle base adding some further sweetness.

This takes 15 minutes – honestly – and rewards you with flavour in spades. If you want to be a bit more luxurious, add some cream, although it is perfectly nice and fresh without it.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 4 for a light lunch

Ingredients

Depends on the size of your scallops but aim for 4 large scallops per person

1 onion, finely chopped

200g chorizo, finely chopped

A few sprigs of mint, leaves pulled off and chopped finely

300g frozen peas, defrosted

Method

Fry the onion gently over a medium heat for 5 minutes until starting to soften in some olive oil. Take care that it doesn’t burn or grow brown.
Add the chorizo and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the peas and stir through.
If you have room in your pan, push the pea mixture to the side and cook the scallops for aproz 2 minutes on each side, you want them to be rare in the centre. (Trust me – they will taste better and won’t make you ill).
Lightly mash the pea mixture, season and add the mint. Serve the scallops on top of it and eat immediately. With a nice glass of white wine (I think a nice Alsace Riesling or Gewurztraminer would be lovely here).

Enjoy!