Christmas Dinner Test III

Scallops, black pudding, apple sauce and spinach

Ingredients
250ml apple juice
60g butter, plus extra to fry scallops
splash creme fraiche
splash calvados
salt, to taste

2 Bramley apples (for the puree)
2 Granny Smith apples (for the battons)

1 black pudding

3 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 coriander seeds, crushed
1 unwaxed lemon, zest only
250g small spinach leaves (or baby spinach)

12 scallops
knob butter
fleur de sel, to taste

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/Gas 3.
2. Place the apple juice in a pan and cook until the liquid has reduced to one-fifth of the original quantity.
3. Beat in the butter, double cream and calvados and season with salt to taste. Set aside, keeping warm, until needed.
4. Peel the Bramley apples, place in an ovenproof dish and cover with foil.
5. Bake the apples in the oven until soft - about 10-15 minutes.
6. Allow the apple to cool slightly, remove the core and pass through a sieve to make a smooth purée. Set aside.
7. Cut thin batons from the Granny Smith apples and place in cold water until needed.
8. Cut eight thin slices of black pudding and cook in one tablespoon of olive oil in a hot frying pan until crisp on both sides.
9. Carefully remove the black pudding from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm.
10. Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Grind salt and freshly ground black pepper into the oil. When you can smell the pepper toasting, add the coriander seeds and the lemon zest. Add the spinach to the pan and cook until wilted.
11. Meanwhile, season the scallops on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
12. Heat another frying pan until hot and add the remaining olive oil to the pan. Place the scallops in the pan and cook for about a minute and half on each side. Thirty seconds before the end of cooking time, add a knob of butter to the pan.
13. To serve, place a line of spinach in the centre of four plates and place three scallops along the line with a piece of black pudding between each. Sprinkle over the fleur de sel to taste.
14. Drain the Granny Smith batons well and arrange them on top. Place a streak of Bramley purée down each side of the plate. Spoon the warm apple sauce around and over the scallops.

From : Masterchef Goes Large

I liked it. Especially the applejuice/butter/calvadossauce. :)
I liked the spinach too, but I don't think it's necessary for the dish.
Neither is the applepuree. I think I will skip both of them next time.
And I need to find a better quality of black pudding. And I couldn't decide this time how thick it should be, or even if I prefer it crumbled.

And pay a little bit more attention to the presentation.
Probably to have a plan for the battons, hihi.