Far North's larder is the best you can get

A treat for the tastebuds.

THANK goodness we are into February; January must be the longest and most depressing month of the year.

However, I had quite a nice end to the month as I was invited to London to help promote all the wonderful ingredients we have in the Far North – kippers, salmon, scallops, fine cheese, biscuits, game and whisky, and beef and lamb from Mey Selections.

It was held in the exclusive RAC in Pall Mall – not a bad pad I must say. The first day was mostly press and I did a little talk on why the Far North has so much fantastic produce.

The second day involved top London chefs – most of whom have been to Ackergill in the past for the Food of Love weekend we have every February.

And we were all invited to a champagne reception with HRH, who is a fantastic supporter of the local area.

For the best part of 10 years now I have been so impressed with the wonderful natural larder of Caithness and its neighbouring counties.

And thanks to the North Highland Initiative, more and more chefs and budding chefs will make use of it for their own restaurants and this in turn will boost the fragile local economy – only as long as they leave some for me at Ackergill.

Some of the best produce last month was diver-caught scallops from Keltic Seafare. The scallops can be in the sea one day here and on a plate in a Michelin-starred restaurant in London for lunch the next day. Of course we would have them the same day at Ackergill!

I have done a little scallop starter which we quite often do around this time of year.

Enjoy!

RECIPE

Roast sea scallops with butternut purée, caramelised walnuts and Skirza honey vinaigrette

WE have the most amazing scallops up here in Caithness, I only ever use diver-caught scallops.

The crunch of the caramelised walnuts and the earthiness of the salsify goes great with the natural sweetness of the scallops.

Serves four people,

1 butternut squash

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic

4 sprigs of thyme

2oz unsalted butter

55ml double cream

Salt and pepper

50ml Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

30ml sherry vinegar

100ml Skirza honey

100ml good-quality olive oil

100g sugar

50g walnuts

40g salsify slices, sautéed in butter

1 tbsp chopped flat parsley

8 scallops

25g salt

25g mild curry powder

Olive oil

Knob of butter

Chervil to serve

Preheat the oven to 160C, gas mark 2.

Mix the vinegars and honey together in a blender and then slowly add in the oil. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

Half the butternut lengthways and score up and down the yellow flesh, scrape out the seeds and replace with the garlic and thyme. Rub with olive oil and season well. Cover with tin foil. Roast in the oven for one hour or until soft.

Remove from the oven and scrape out the inside. Blend the roasted squash with the butter and cream. Pass the mixture through the sieve and use the back of a ladle to rub it through. Season to taste. Pour into a squeeze bottle and keep warm.

Slowly heat the sugar in a thick-bottomed pan; once the sugar has gone a light-brown colour take off the heat and fold in the walnuts. This should coat the walnuts and pour onto a greaseproof-paper-covered tray. Allow to cool, but not in the fridge. Crush and mix in the salsify and parsley.

Cut the scallops in half, season with the curry powder and salt. To sauté, place the olive oil into a pan with a knob of butter, once the butter starts to foam, place in the scallop and cook for one minute on each side; until it obtains a golden-brown colour on the presentation side.

Make four drops of the purée onto the service plate, and place the scallops on top. Scatter over the walnuts and drizzle with the dressing, top with chervil.

For the purée