If you’re lucky enough to get hold of samphire, dulse (a type of seaweed) and fresh top-notch seafood, this is a wonderful recipe to capture the flavours of the sea.
Equipment and preparation: You will need a food processor for this recipe.
For the pickled dulse, add the sugar and salt to 360g/12¼oz of water in a pan. Place over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the soy sauce and vinegar and leave to fully cool.
Thoroughly wash the dried dulse in cold running water to remove any sand. Place in a bowl of fresh water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
Strain the dulse and leave it to drain.
Add the rehydrated dulse to the cooled pickling liquid. Place the pickled dulse into the fridge to pickle for 24 hours before using.
For the vegetable stock, grate the carrots, mushrooms, fennel and celery in a food processor using the grating blade.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the grated sliced vegetables and fry without colouring them for five minutes. Add the bay and thyme.
Add 1.5 litres/2½ pints of cold water to the pan and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum or impurities that rise to the surface with a spoon. Gently simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat, add the parsley and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
Pass the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Remove any fat from the surface of the stock. Refrigerate until required.
For the scallop, samphire and clam broth, rinse the clams well and scrub if necessary in cold water. Discard any with cracked or damaged shells and those that don’t close when tapped on the edge of the sink. Place the rest in a large bowl. Cover with lots of cold water and leave to stand for 20 minutes to give the clams a chance to dislodge any sand that might be present inside the shells. Do not leave them for any longer than this.
Heat a dash of olive oil in a lidded pan and cook the scallops until light golden-brown. Remove and set aside in a warm place to rest while you complete the dish.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary, add the washed clams and cook on a high heat for one minute.
Add the chopped garlic and cook for a further minute. Add 80g/2¾oz of the vegetable stock (the rest can be used for another recipe). Tip in both types of samphire and place the lid on top. Cook for a further minute, or until the clams are opened.
Add the chopped coriander. Drain the sliced onions and add them to the pan, along with 15g/½oz of the pickling liquid, 20g/¾oz of the pickled dulse and a squeeze of lemon juice.
To serve, place a small spoon of the broth mixture into the centre of each of two bowls. Arrange the three scallops around and spoon the remaining clams and samphire around. Place a couple of larger pieces of pickled dulse in and around to serve.
