I cooked: Gordon Ramsay Inspired Scallops with Olives, Tomatoes and Herbs

After watching a few episodes of Hell's Kitchen on Youtube, I've seen a fair share of chefs ruin their scallops. That made me ponder, the famous Top Gear catchphrase that Jeremy Clarkson and co. usually go on to regret saying:

How hard can it be?

As it turns out not very. Armed with some fresh scallops and a few looks at Chef Ramsay's videos, I managed to churn out these beauties which looked and tasted spectacular. Perhaps it is the stress and pressure of having to serve a crowd in a fine dining restaurant and live up to Chef Ramsay's standards that caused those failures.

This recipe is great as a starter and you might well consider it for special occasions as it is easy to make and lip-smackingly good. Here's how my culinary experiment went!

Scallops on a bed of olives, tomatoes and herbs

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 - 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

8 scallops

8-10 olives

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

8-10 cherry tomatoes

6-8 stalks green/French beans

A handful of herbs (I used parsley, thyme and basil)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Juice of 1 lemon (optional)

To cook the vegetables:

1. Halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the green beans into 1-inch long stalks.

2. Chop the herbs finely. I made do with whatever herbs I had on me, Chef Ramsay's recipe called for coriander and basil.

3. Put 2-3 tbps of olive oil into a pan and set to medium heat.

4. Add the tomatoes, olives and beans. Season the vegetables with some salt and pepper.

5. Keep aside while preparing scallops.

To prepare scallops:

1. Make sure that the pan is piping hot and put in some olive oil. Leave the olive oil to heat up for a bit before putting in the scallops.

2. Pat dry the scallops and season with salt and pepper. It is alright to put on a little bit more salt as it falls off during cooking. Season only 1 side as u can season the other side while cooking.

3. Place the scallops, seasoned side down, one at a time into the pan. You should hear a nice sizzle indicating that the pan is hot enough. This should nicely seal the juices in the scallop while creating a nice seared outer layer.

4. Season the upper side of the scallops while the other side is cooking. Let the scallops cook for about 1-2 minutes each side, depending on the size of the scallops. If you have a lemon, squeeze some juice onto the scallops as a finishing product to give it a nice zing.

5. Remove scallops and place onto a paper towel to remove access oil. Plate the scallops on the bed of garnish.

Ta-da! Excellent scallops that will leave you desiring for more...

Check out the size of the scallops.