Scallops with a Savoury Crust

Ingredients

• 400g scallops, trimmed and rinsed
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 smallish vine tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• ½ tsp smoked Spanish paprika (sweet)
• 1 tbsp dry sherry
• salt
• 2 tbsp panko crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 tbsp parsley

Method

Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil, then transfer to lightly oiled scallop shells, or ramekins. Put shells or ramekins in a shallow ovenproof dish that can go under the grill.

Lower tomatoes into a pan of boiling water and count for 10 for ripe tomatoes, and up to 20 for firmer tomatoes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to a bowl of chilled water. Peel and cut a cross through the smooth (not core) end of each, cutting a third of the way through.

Put onion in a medium-sized frying pan with 2 Tbsp of oil and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until lightly golden. Stir in paprika, add sherry, stir for 1 minute, then add whole tomatoes. Turn heat to low, cover pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, shaking tomatoes around the pan from time to time. Season with salt.

Mix the remaining oil with crumbs, garlic and parsley. Spoon a tomato and some onion on top of each bundle of scallops and scatter with crumbs.

Preheat oven to 200°C (regular). Bake scallops for about 7 minutes, until scallops are just starting to cook. Finish off under the grill; don’t have them too close to the grill or the crumbs will burn before the scallops cook through. Serve hot.