Rec: Seared Scallops, Carrot Fritters and a Yoghurt Dressing. My cookbook club prepared
items from his books two years ago, we mostly used Bill's Food and Bill's Open Kitchen and everything turned out very well. This was one of my favorites from the evening.
Seared Scallops, Carrot Fritters and a Yoghurt Dressing
'Bills Open Kitchen' by Bill Granger
Serves 4
12 medium-sized scallops, intestinal tract removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
carrot fritters (below)
yoghurt dressing (below)
watercress
Place the scallops in a bowl, add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat and cook the scallops for 1 minute each side.
Place 3 carrot fritters on a plate, top with the watercress and scallops and drizzle with the yoghurt dressing. Season with pepper.
Carrot Fritters
60 g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) soda water
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
235 g (1 1/2 cups) grated carrot
8 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
25 g (1/2 cup) chopped coriander (cilantro)
60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 160̊C (315̊F).
Place the flour, soda water, egg, cumin, coriander, turmeric, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the chilli, carrot, spring onion and coriander and stir to combine.
Heat a frying pan on a medium to high heat, add the oil and heat until hot. Cooking in batches, add 2 tablespoons of batter per fritter and cook for 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Cook the remaining fritter batter, adding extra oil if necessary. Place the fritters on an ovenproof plate lined with paper towels and keep warm in the oven while you cook the scallops.
Yoghurt Dressing
125 g (1/2 cup) plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon lime juice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Pat’s notes: The carrot fritters which Bill serves with seared scallops can be made into bite sizes and served with drinks, with the yoghurt dressing for dipping.
6/05 This scallop dish prepared at cookbook club dinner was excellent! The pairing of the scallops with the carrot fritters and topped with a dollop of the yogurt sauce was divine. They were served as an appetizer (passed on a tray while we were mingling with cocktails) but they could easily be served as an entree.
