While other dishes may have more intricate components or methods, this one adheres to one guiding principle: buy something beautiful and leave it alone. We’re lucky to serve this ingredient, and treat it with that respect.
Ingredients
Nasturtium oil
- 100g nasturtium leaves
- 100g grapeseed oil
- 2g salt
- 2g caster sugar
Scallop tartare
- 4 extra-large scallops (320g scallop meat), shells reserved
- 4g lime juice
- 4g chives, finely chopped
- 4g mascarpone
- salt, to taste
Sea vegetable consommé
- 200g vegetable nage – see page 126
- 25g sea lettuce
- 25g sea rosemary
- 25g sea fennel
- 25g sea purslane
- lime juice, to taste
- salt, to taste
To assemble
- baby nasturtium leaves
- dill tips
- chive tips
- oyster leaves
- wasabi flowers
- baby wasabi leaves
Serves: 4
Method
Nasturtium oil
Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend to a smooth purée. Prepare a bowl over ice. Pass the purée through a fine muslin cloth into the bowl, leaving it to hang overnight in the fridge. The next day, pour the oil into a sous vide bag, seal and hang it at an angle in the fridge for 24 hours, allowing the water and the oil to separate. Once the water has drained to the bottom corner of the bag, cut a small hole to allow the water to slowly escape, leaving only the oil. Reserve the oil until required.
Scallop tartare
Cut the scallop meat into 5-mm cubes on a cold chopping board. In a bowl set over an ice bath, combine the scallops, lime juice, chives and mascarpone. Mix gently and add salt to taste. Reserve in the fridge until required.
Sea vegetable consommé
Bring the nage to the boil in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat. Add the coastal herbs and leave to infuse for 15 minutes, then pass through a fine chinois into a bowl set over ice. Add lime juice and salt to taste.
To assemble
Place some scallop tartare in the centre of a reserved scallop shell. Add some of the herbs, leaves and flowers on top. Pour some sea vegetable consommé into the shell around the scallop and add droplets of nasturtium oil onto the consommé.
Core by Clare Smyth,
RRP$60.00, Phaldon
Photography by Nathan Snoddon
