Seared Scallops on a bed of Thai-Style noodle salad, sprinkled with crispy lardons

Yay! So the dinner I'd planned for tonight turned out great! ^_^

Since the fella's going away to London next weekend the Toy Story 3 premier [yes, toy design can be rather glamorous], tonight's the only night we'll have to spend some quality time together. So here's the quick low-down:

Scallop Marinade 

1 glug of olive oil

1 clove finely chopped garlic

Juice of 1 lime

Zest of lime

Squeeze of lemon juice

1 dash of sesame oil

Marinade the scallops for 1hr in the fridge

Thai-Style Noodle Salad

Rice noodles

1/2 red pepper [slice into julienne strips]

4" of cucumber [slice into julienne strips]

2 small carrots [slice into julienne strips]  

Spring onion [chopped into 2" strips]

Once rice noodles are cooked, drain and rinse immediately under super cold water to stop the noodles from cooking any further. [My dad says this also helps keep the bite and 'bounciness' in the noodle texture.] Rinse until the noodles are cold. Mix the raw vegetable ingredients in. I often use scissors to snip the noodles to make it easier when tossing the salad.

Dressing for Noodle Salad

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

Juice of 2 limes

Zest of lime

Finely chopped garlic

My measurements are rough as I often go by taste testing - I'd recommend you do the same. It should tast rather tart with a hint of sweetness. Mr Nik isn't keen on chilis - so if I was cooking this for myself, I'd add some chopped chilli into this dressing for a little kick. Toss dressing into noodles. Mix well.

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Once salad is ready, heat up pan with a dash of olive oil. Once pan is super hot, place scallops on pan to sear. Allocate roughly 3-4minutes per side [depending on size of scallops].

Simultaneously fry up some chopped bacon on a dry pan until crispy. Et voilá, lardons! 

Serve scallops on bed of noodle salad. Sprinkle crispy lardons on top. If you like a little kick [like I do] then sprinkle 1 finely chopped chilli on top as well.

We had a nice bottle of super chilled Sauvignon Blanc with this - and it was just perfect. Mmmmm...

This improvized recipe was just great. Easy and delicious! The zesty freshness of the salad complemented well with the delicate flesh of the scallops, and the saltiness of the lardons gave it a lovely extra body. 

Give it a try! ^_^

Yeah, I've been a bit rubbish at bloggin'...

...and I blame it all on work: hummel sales conference, Berlin fashion week, photoshoots for next year's Spring/Summer collection to name just a few of the things that have stopped me from feeling creative in the kitchen [and then blogging about it]. But I'm back now! Yay ^-^ and that's all that matters. 

The good news is that I'm feeling waaay inspired with all this summer weather we're currently enjoying in Denmark. Time to ditch the heavy foodstuff and seek lighter alternatives to stay cool and fresh during this season! I'm actually in the middle of marinading some scallops for a romantic dinner tonight with the fella. Like with most things I cook in the kitchen, it's my first time. So keep your digits crossed for a scrummy result! Will post up some pics once it's all done.

In the meantime, I'd like to post up a lovely Danish 'The Bøller'  recipe [pron. "Te Boller"] that my friend Lissy made me when we were summer-housing in Løkken together. The Bøller translates to 'Tea Buns' - which are traditionally enjoyed with herbal tea, butter and homemade marmelade. This recipe earnt me some massive brownie points with the father-in-law when he came to visit a couple of months ago. 

Danish Oatmeal Tea Buns
20g yeast
0.8 liters of cold water
600g flour
200g oatmeal
200g whole wheat flour
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp sugar or honey
a squeeze of lemon juice

Mix yeast in water. Gradually fold and knead all ingredients in. Cover the dough with clingfilm and let it sit in the fridge overnight [at least 8hrs]. Once it's ready and the dough has risen, preheat over to 210 degrees. Form the dough into bun-sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with foil and back for 25mins.

There. And that's literally it. Suuuuper easy. They turned out perfectly - even for me! 


Anyway, I'd better get back to preparing tonight's dinner...