Wild Scallop Ceviche

Ingredients

Scallop Ceviche:

12 wild scallops (3 per serve)
Chardonnay vinegar
Zest of 1 small lime
1/4 red onion, finely diced

Crumbled Chevre:

140g ash chevre (35g per person), at a cool temperature

Sweet Radish Salad:

5 radishes
250mL water from kettle
100g caster sugar
2 drops rosewater

Raspberries:

24 raspberries (6 per serve)
25mL raspberry vinegar

Micro Salad:

1/2 punnet baby watercress
1/2 punnet baby beetroot leaves
1/4 punnet micro celery

To Serve:

Edible flowers (3-4 per serve)
Flaked sea salt
Verjuice

Method

Scallop Ceviche:

Clean scallops, remove roe. Place scallops on a tray, drying as much as possible as you do so with a clean cloth or paper towel. Slice each scallop horizontally into three, so you end up with thin, circular slices. Place in a container and add enough chardonnay vinegar to cover. Add lime zest and Spanish onion, then let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Crumbled Chevre:

Work with cheese when it’s cool; this will allow the chevre to crumble rather than mash. Break into small pieces, about the size of a corn kernel. Place back in fridge until required.

Sweet Radish Salad:

Add the sugar to the water and stir until dissolved. Place in fridge to cool. Once cooled, add rosewater.

Wash and slice radish as thinly as possible, slicing crossways to create perfect circles. Add to sugar/rosewater solution.

Raspberries:

Roll raspberries in the vinegar, shaking to remove the excess liquid. (You need very little vinegar to gain the desired flavour.)

Micro Salad:

Remove any long stems from the micro salad leaves. Wash leaves, place on paper towel and place in fridge until required.

To Serve:

Cover a clean plate with paper towel and have it ready to rest ingredients on as you plate up.

Remove scallops from fridge and pat dry before placing nine slices around each serving plate.

Divide the radish salad among the four plates, arranging it around the scallops. Intersperse the radish with the raspberries. Arrange the micro salad on each plate, followed by the crumbled chevre.

Finally, garnish with just a few edible flowers. Sprinkle with a small pinch of flaked salt, mainly over the scallops. Drizzle with a little verjuice to finish.

Credits: Shawn Sheather