King scallops with hazelnut butter and caviar
This starter is pretty easy to manage and will certainly add the wow factor to your dinner table.
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King scallops with hazelnut butter and caviar
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 12 king scallops in shell
- 200g unsalted butter
- ½ lemon, zest only
- Salt and pepper
- 100g hazelnuts, toasted
- Parsley, finely chopped
Method
- Place the butter into a food processor.
- Add the lemon zest and season.
- Blitz till soft then fold in the parsley and nuts by hand. Do not blend as the end result would be too uniform.
- Lay a sheet of cling film onto a flat surface and place the butter into the middle. Form a sausage shape then roll up in the cling film. Tie up the edges and store in the fridge till needed.
- Dislodge the scallops from their shells and rinse to get rid of any grit. Remove the coral if you wish. I like to leave it attached.
- Place three scallops into each shell, season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Remove the butter from the fridge and cut into 1 cm thick slices and place 1 or 2 onto each shell, depending on how buttery you like them. You may prepare them to this stage up to 4 hours before needed.
- Preheat an overhead grill. Place the scallops into a large pan that fits them all.
- Cook on the hob for 5 minutes then place under the grill to finish melting the butter and to colour.
- We served on sea salt to keep the shells steady, garnished with avruga caviar, samphire and finely diced tomatoes and sweet peppers to add colour.