St Jacques scallops with squid ink cake and tapioca by Jean-Didier Gouges

Ingredients

6 scallops, rinsed and cleaned twice
60g tapioca
100g watercress
2 tablespoons lecithin powder
handful of samphire, chopped into stalks
150ml sparkling water
200g tempura flour
2 teaspoons of keta caviar (optional)
For the squid ink cake:
4 medium sized eggs
80g plain flour
20g beetroot powder
4 teaspoons squid ink
For the pineapple yuzu dressing:
40g ginger, finely grated
1 clove of garlic, finely grated
200ml yuzu juice
200ml pineapple juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
juice of ½ lime
½ red chilli
For the beetroot tuile:
2 tablespoons beetroot powder
2 tablespoons plain flour
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
200ml water

Method

1. Start making the squid ink cake by mixing the eggs, plain flour, beetroot powder and 2 teaspoons of squid ink together in a hand blender. Place into the siphon with 1 of the gas cartridges installed and rest in the fridge upside down.
2. Cover the tapioca with water in a pan and cook on a medium heat with 2 teaspoons of squid ink until transparent and sticky.
3. Blitz the watercress with the lecithin powder and 400ml water in a blender before leaving to rest in the fridge.
4. For the yuzu pineapple dressing, blitz the yuzu juice, pineapple juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, lime juice and chilli together in the blender. Once again, leave to rest in the fridge.
5. For the beetroot tuile, mix the beetroot powder, plain flour, vegetable oil and water together. In a hot pan, add more vegetable oil and spoon the mixture in until all the water has evaporated and it becomes crispy. Place on kitchen cloth to cool and absorb the rest of the oil.
6. Remove the beetroot mix from the fridge and install a new gas cartridge. Spray into a cup and fill half of it. Place the cup into the microwave and cook on a high heat for 30 seconds. Remove and place upside down on a plate before putting aside.
7. Take the watercress mixture from the fridge and heat on the hob lightly to bring to room temperature. Then, blend until it has the texture of a mousse or foam.
8. Mix the tempura flour with the sparkling water, along with 2 cubes of ice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Then, coat the samphire stalks in the tempura batter mixture before frying with vegetable oil in a pan on a medium heat until golden. Remove any extra oil with a paper towel.
9. Add the scallops to the pan and sear for 2 minutes on each side.
10. Dress the tapioca with the pineapple yuzu dressing and place in the centre of a plate. Break the squid ink cake into pieces and decorate. Place the samphire into the tapioca, then add the seared scallops and the beetroot tuile. Blitz the watercress foam once more and spoon on top of the other ingredients.
11. Add any extra cress and the keta caviar (optional) to garnish and extra yuzu dressing to taste.

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