SCALLOP WITH FORCED RHUBARB MIGNONETTE WITH EMILY CHIA

In this recipe, Emily gives Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb a fresh spin.

We’ve seen it beautifully baked in a Gâteau Basque, folded into a buttery tart with Meyer Lemon, stewed and set into a smooth pink jelly with cream and Tarocco Orange, and layered between sweet vanilla panna cotta.

This dish offers something surprising and new.

“I wanted to use Forced Rhubarb in a savoury way,” Emily tells us. She pairs the produce with seasonal scallops from Scotland, thinly sliced in a crudo-style with shallots.

The rhubarb mignonette carries both sweetness and acidity, balancing the dish while being subtly reminiscent of dessert. Emily explains that sugar is key to bringing out the flavour, in this case Pura Panela, which still has all the molasses in it.

She describes the finished dish as an expression of “the first signs of spring” or “like a little bit of sun on a crisp winter’s day".

SCALLOP WITH FORCED RHUBARB MIGNONETTE

INGREDIENTS

2 live scallops, sashimi grade
1 stalk of Forced Rhubarb
1 thumb ginger
1 banana shallot
1 tbsp Pura Panela raw cane sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 unwaxed Leafy Lemon
1 tbsp Senia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red shiso cress
10g fine sea salt
Pinch of flaked sea salt

METHOD

1. Open the live scallops and clean well.
2. Make a salt/sugar cure with 10g sea salt and 10g cane sugar with a little zest of lemon. Dust the tops of the scallops with the salt/sugar cure and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry after curing.
3. Make your mignonette by finely chopping the Forced Rhubarb and banana shallot.
4. Peel and grate in the fresh ginger. Season with flaked sea salt, cane sugar and apple cider vinegar. Add lemon juice if you want more acidity. (Both sweetness and acidity bring out the natural fruitiness of the Forced Rhubarb, I prefer to keep the balance of the sugar and vinegar at 50/50 to highlight the sweetness of the scallops without overpowering the subtle flavour). Let the mignonette sit for 20 minutes.
5. To plate, slice the scallop as thin as you can to get slices of scallop sashimi. Arrange on the plate and spoon half a teaspoon of mignonette on each slice. Drizzle with Senia Olive Oil and garnish with red shiso.