Seared Scallops with Minted Pea Purée & Boudin Noir Crumb

Seared Scallops with Minted Pea Purée & Boudin Noir Crumb
A light, elegant starter that balances sweet scallops with fresh peas and a savoury, garlicky crumb made from black pudding.
You'll need:
For the scallops
- 12 hand-dived scallops, cleaned
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Sea salt
For the pea purée
- 200g frozen peas
- A few sprigs of fresh mint
- 1 garlic clove
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- Salt
- A splash of water
For the black pudding crumb
- 50g black pudding (boudin noir), crumbled
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- A small handful of parsley, finely chopped
- A knob of butter
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Start with the pea purée. Cook the peas in boiling water until just tender, then drain. Blitz with mint, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt, and a splash of water until smooth. Set aside.
For the crumb, melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and cook the black pudding with the garlic until it begins to crisp. Add the breadcrumbs and parsley and cook until everything is golden and crunchy. Set aside.
Pat the scallops dry and season with salt. Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan over high heat and add the scallops clockwise, so you know which to turn first. After about 90 seconds, flip them, add a generous knob of butter and baste for another minute or so, until just cooked through.
Pour any remaining butter from the scallop pan into the crumb and toss to coat.
To serve, spoon a small dollop of the pea purée onto each plate (or scallop shell, if you have them), top with three scallops, and scatter over the boudin noir crumb. Serve immediately.