Seared scallops with lemon pasta

reat seas scallops are diver-caught and pricier than those little ones that shrink when you cook 'em, but they are so worth it. You'll need two or three each, depending on their size, to make a very special starter served on a nest of fine pasta coated in a creamy lemon sauce. Avoid scallops that have been soaked in water, as the water will come out in the pan and they will stew instead of sear.

Feeds 2

• 100 g fine pasta eg linguine, thin tagliatelle
• 6 large sea scallops
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 1 tbsp crème fraiche or pure cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• sea salt and pepper

1. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until tender, then drain and keep warm. To make the sauce, heat the butter in a frypan, and cook the lemon rind for 30 seconds. Add the white wine and allow to bubble away, stirring well until reduced in volume by half. Add the crème fraiche and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the lemon juice, cayenne, sea salt and pepper, and keep warm.
   
   
2. Rinse and dry the scallops. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick fry pan and sear the scallops on one side, without moving, for 2 minutes, until they are lightly browned and crusty. Turn and cook the other side briefly - you want the scallops to be hot in the middle but still moist.
   
   
3. Reheat the sauce, add the pasta and the chives and heat through. Arrange the pasta in two nests on two warm dinner plates. Season the scallops well with salt and pepper, then arrange two or three scallops on each plate. Scatter with grated lemon rind and serve hot.