I was recently turned onto Just Add Duck Fat’s blog by a friend and have since spent hours scrolling through pages of deliciousness, bookmarking my favourite recipes to try this week.

My top dish to try this week is Seared scallops, cauliflower and roast garlic puree, bacon and peas. By now your mouth should already be salivating, unless of course you are allergic to seafood in which case STAY AWAY.

I have always wanted to cook scallops at home but never really found the perfect recipe, but this is definitely it.

As Adam (the brains behind Just Add Duck Fat) tells us “like all great dishes, the key is balance and contrast. While scallops classically pair well with cauliflower puree, it is the contrasting colours and textures of the bacon and peas that round this dish out.”

Check out the blow by blow below or head to Just Add Duck Fat for more!

Ingredients

- scallops
- bacon, sliced into little chunks
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- one bulb of garlic
- 300mL milk
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- frozen peas
- duck fat (or other oil) to fry

Instructions

1. Chop the bottom of the garlic bulb and place in oven at 200C for 20-30 min. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of each clove and reserve.
2. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer, add the bay leaves and cauliflower. Simmer for 45 min until very soft. Drain, reserving milk.
3. Puree cauliflower and garlic in blender, adding a little milk at a time, until suitable texture achieved. Season to taste.
4. Fry the bacon chunks until well crisped. Remove, reserving the rendered bacon fat.
5. Place bacon on a tray in oven at 180C for a further ten minutes to crisp up even more. Fry the frozen peas in the bacon fat, seasoning well. Do it over a low heat for only about 5 min. Or they will explode, and shower you in hot bacon fat.
6. Whizz the bacon into little shards and powder in a blender.
7. Sear the scallops quickly over a high heat, as described above.
8. Serve over a smear of puree, and sprinkle with bacon and peas.