Scallop Saute with Miso

With Parmesan. Weird, but completely wonderful.

If you have a normal appetite, this is fantastic as a starter.

If not, it’s what Nigel Slater would call a “simple supper” - which basically means you’ll feel all skinny, sophisticated and Islington-y for about fifteen minutes and then you’ll realise you’re absolutely fucking famished and need to urgently stuff your face with Wotsits and Dairylea dunkers.

This is another Harumi recipe - simple and fabulous. If you don’t have it, I highly recommend her book Harumi's Japanese Cooking

Get the best fresh scallops that you can, and they need to be fresh, not frozen. Pan fry them until seared on the outside but rare in the middle - when you cut through, you want translucence. Harumi does them without the corals, but I don’t mind either way - the orange colour is glorious, and I enjoy the additional texture and taste of the coral.

Remove the scallops from the pan and fry off some crushed garlic. Add a slug or three of white wine, and a couple of tablespoons each of miso, mirin and soy sauce. Add a teaspoon of caster sugar and a few tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil. Then remove from the heat and mix in a tablespoon of grainy mustard and a decent amount of double cream.

Tear some watercress leaves onto your plate. Place the scallops on top, and then pour over the hot miso sauce. I didn’t have any watercress, so did some rocket and samphire instead, and chopped some herbs through the sauce too. Top with finely grated parmesan. This last bit sounds weird, but go with it - the combination of the Japanese flavours and the Italian parmesan and all its lovely umami, is just divine.

If you’re in need of some carbs, add some crusty french bread, or maybe a slab of sourdough - whatever it is, it’s white - brown or healthy grains don’t work with this dish in my view.

Serve with a glass of very cold, crisp dry white. Job’s a good-un.