Pan Roasted Scallops with Salsa

More from Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live, this is Pan Roasted Scallops with Salsa. I was a bit bold after my success in cooking fish in front of DD that I pushed it a bit further and tried cooking scallops too.

The dish is really good. The tomatoes and the olives and herbs all work so well together. I did feel that there was a little bit too high an olive to tomato ratio, but I'm not that big an olive fan. The scallops were fabulously meaty and were much better than I thought they would be, given that I bought them on special (display only) from Coles on a Sunday morning and had a small failure in the quick, hot cooking bit. This was my first time cooking scallops and while I thought I had seasoned them quite liberally, they really needed more seasoning. Something to remember for next time.

Pan Roasted Scallops with Tomato and Herb Salsa
from Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live Special

4 tbsp Olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes
80g pitted, drained black olives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch coriander, leaves only
1/2 bunch basil leaves
1 lemon, juiced
12 scallops (hand dived if you can get them), coral removed (I really doubt mine were "hand dived")

First, place a small saucepan over a gentle heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the oil. Add the pitted black olives, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Hold the stalks of the coriander and basil together and slice down with a sharp knife to shave off the leaves. Discard the stalks, gently roll the coriander and basil leaves into a ball and chop. Add the coriander and basil to the salsa and stir to combine.

Roll the lemon on a chopping board to soften it and release the juices and then chop in half. Add the juice of half a lemon to the pan, stir and set the salsa aside to allow the flavours to infuse.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat until smoking hot and then add one tablespoon of olive oil. Lay the scallops out on a board, pat dry with kitchen paper and then season one side with salt and pepper.

Think of the frying pan as a clock face and add the largest scallop (seasoned side down) in the twelve o’clock position. Continue adding the scallops clockwise working your way round 1,2 3 etc until you get to 12 again. Season the unseasoned side of the scallops and after 1-2 minutes or when the underside is turning golden brown, with a palette knife or spatula, flip over the scallops starting with the scallop you placed in the twelve o’clock position. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over the scallops and give the pan a good shake to ensure even cooking.

After 1-2 minutes or when the scallops are golden brown on all sides, tip the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

To serve, lay out four small plates and place a large spoonful of the salsa in the middle of each plate, arrange 3 scallops on each plate and serve immediately (or do as I did and pile the whole thing onto one serving plate).