The subtle saltiness of Italian dried ham combines perfectly with these marinated scallops with their brilliant orange corals to make handsome brochettes that can be served on their skewers.
ingredients
serves: 4
12 fresh king scallops with their corals, about 3/4 pound in total
16 thin slices Parma or San Daniele ham, about 5 1/2 ounce in total
Black pepper
for the marinade:
2 large cloves garlic
A few sprigs each of fresh basil, cilantro and parsley
1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
method
1. Rinse and dry the scallops, separate the corals from the white meat and put both into a bowl.
2. To make the marinade, peel the garlic cloves and crush them into the bowl. Rinse and dry the herbs, reserve a few sprigs of basil for a garnish, then chop the rest and add them to the scallops. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl, add the olive oil, stir and leave to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat the grill to high.
3. When the scallops are ready, gather a slice of ham into a ruffle, thread it onto a metal skewer, then thread on a scallop and a piece of coral. Repeat three times, finishing with ham. Prepare three more skewers the same way
4. Lay the skewers across the grill pan, baste them with some of the marinade and grill for 5 minutes, turning and basting them again halfway through. They are ready when the ham is crisp and the scallops are just cooked.
5. Serve on skewers, or remove and pile onto serving plates. Spoon on the pan juices, then top with black pepper and sprigs of basil.
more information
Always use fresh scallops. Frozen scallops are too watery and this will dilute the marinade, and make it difficult to grill the scallops properly.
