It certainly has been a long time since I’ve been regularly blogging. I’ve been so bold, but so, so busy it had to go on the way side for just a little bit.
There has been loads happening lately which put the blogging to one side. I’ve recently been on a road trip of Sicily sampling all the wonderful island has to offer. I intend to cook up my version of my favourite dishes from our trip…….think Pasta con le Sarde and Caponata and you get where I'm going.
But before all that…… I must give a moment or two to talk about making the final of Easy Food Magazine Home Cook Hero 2012 in the Catch of the Day category for my Scallops & Curry Dhal.
Great honour to make it to the final 3 for the category and to get to participate in the cook-off in Cooks Academy in Dublin over the weekend. The Cooks Academy was buzzing with excitement and nerves, and I got to meet lots of wonderful people who love to cook and also meet the people who work on Easy Food Magazine (my food magazine of choice). It was a fantastic experience and the judges included 2 top food TV personalities.
There were 10 different categories with the youngest entrant being just 5 years old, bless her!
The day was topped off with a Black Tie Ball in The Shelbourne Hotel (if you don’t mind), it was well fancy! A wonderful evening of food and laughter and conversation was had, and although I didn’t win; to be involved was truly enough for me.
Anyone thinking of entering next year, I say ‘DO IT!’. Great event!!!!
Just to be nostalgic, here’s my recipe again for the Scallops and Curry Dhal.
(Kevin Dundon recommended to me to replace the curry dhal with a cauliflower mousse, so watch this space for an attempt at that dish)
Scallops on Curry Dhal, with a Minty Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
For the Scallops
- 6 fresh scallops, washed, dried, coral removed
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
For the Curry Dhal
- 1 cup of yellow split pea lentils (cooked according to packet instructions)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp of chopped coriander
- ½ diced red chilli
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 diced red onion
For the Minty Yogurt Dressing
- 3 tbsp natural yogurt
- Juice & zest of half a lemon
- Salt & pepper
- 1 tsp finely chopped mint leaves
- Cook the split peas in boiling water for 45 mins
- Drain them and set aside
- In a dry pan, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and heat for 3 mins
- Transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder
- Add oil to the pan, and sauté the onions, garlic, chilli with the ground spices and curry powder and turmeric
- Add the lentils back to the pan and warm through, add water so the mixture isn’t too dry.
- Add chopped coriander. Set aside until required. This mixture can easily be reheated in the pan, adding water to keep the mixture wet.
- Wash and dry the scallops, and season with salt, pepper and oil.
- To make the yogurt dressing, combine yogurt, finely chopped mint, 1 tsp of honey, salt, pepper and half the juice of a lemon. Refrigerate until required.
- To cook the scallops, put a dry pan on a high heat.
- Add the scallops to the pan in a clockwise direction.
- Turn after 90 seconds, and sear on other side for 60 seconds
- To plate up, put 3 tsp of the dhal mixture in a row on a plate, top each dhal with a scallop and drizzle over the yogurt dressing.
1 comment:
Congratulations on making it to the final. You looked so beautiful! Those scallops look gorgeous - I must try them sometime soon!
Post a Comment