Scallop, black pudding and fig skewers

This skewer recipe utilizes the well loved pairing of scallops and black pudding, with the less common fresh fig, instead of the usual apple sauce, and I have to say it’s a bit of a winner. Figs are wonderful and in season at this time of year.

Simply skewer alternately plump scallops, quarters of fresh fig, and cubes of black pudding, crisp up over a hot BBQ grill for a few minutes each side, until the scallops are browned on the outside but still slightly undercooked through, (how I like them best) and the fig and black pudding crisp on the outside.

Season with a little coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I served mine with a crisp salad and a piece of olive oil drizzled bruschetta. The flavours worked perfectly together, sweet plump scallops, crispy black pudding and juicy sweet caramelised fig.

Last gasp of alfresco??

The observant among you may have noticed that I’ve changed the title of my blog a little, as the weather got colder I started to question my ability to cook and eat solely outdoors, but with this wonderful October weather we’ve been experiencing, it certainly has been time to make sure all the last wishes for summer have been carried out, so we’ve had lovely days at the beach and fish and chips and a couple of outdoor meals.

This is a nod to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Fish Fight, and supporting our local wonderful fishmonger. Red Gurnard is a bycatch from the trawler industry and often overlooked, and the scallops were diver caught.

Pan fry fillets of Red Gurnard, a lovely firm, and I think slightly nutty tasting fish in a little olive or rapeseed oil skin side down until crisp, and then flip over, meanwhile warm a knob of butter and a little oil until it starts to go a nutty brown colour, toss in some finely chopped garlic and parsley and then the scallops, cook quickly over a high heat a minute or two each side and season.

Put the dish together with some lovely nutty red rice, some steamed greens (I used Salsola from the garden) a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper, and place the fillet on the rice with the scallops as little sweet morsels on top of the greens.

Enjoy outside with a glass of cold Sauvignon Blanc (if the weather allows).