Scallops & Spring Greens with La Verde Olives

This spicy scallop dish by our good friend, James Strawbridge is the ultimate surf n’ turf treat. The addition of our La Verde olives helps provide a herby profile and salty tang to the seasonal shredded spring greens.

Ingredients

8-12 scallops
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of paprika
Pinch of sea salt
185g La Verde olives
75g ‘Nduja spicy sausage
200g spring greens, shredded
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 preserved lemon, thinly sliced

Method

Coat your scallops in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and paprika. Heat a non-stick frying pan and cook your scallops for 2-3 mins on each side.

In another pan heat your spicy sausage, shallot, olives, lemon and spring greens.

Stir well and serve as soon as the spring greens wilt and the shallot softens with pan fried scallops on top.

Olive Breadsticks

These delicious olive breadsticks are great for entertaining but are equally good for a picnic or packed lunch. Made with an olive blend of your choice, they’re the perfect partner for our award-winning tapenades. Make 36 breadsticks.

Ingredients

1kg strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
20g salt
20g yeast
800ml tepid water
4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for oiling
1kg pouch of olives (blend of your choice), roughly chopped
Fine semolina, for dusting

Method

Oil 2x 2-3 litre square plastic containers.

Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add 3/4 of the water and begin mixing on a slow speed. As the dough starts to come together, gradually add the remaining water.

Mix for a further 5-8 minutes on a medium speed. The dough should now be wet and stretch easily when pulled. Add the olive oil and mix fro a further 2 minutes. Add the olives and mix until evenly spread throughout the dough.

Put the dough into the oiled containers and leave until they have at least tripled in size, for approximately an hour.

Line 4x baking trays with baking parchment or silicone paper and preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

Dust the work surface heavily with flour and add some semolina too. Carefully tip the dough onto the surface. It will be very loose and flowing, but don’t worry. Rather than knocking it back as you usually would with bread, handle it gently so that you keep as much air in the dough as possible.

Dust the top of the dough with flour and then stretch it out gentle to a rough rectangle. Starting at one long edge, cut the dough into approximately 36 strips. Stretch each piece out until 20-25cm long. Place 6x strips onto each of the prepared baking trays, spacing them apart.

Bake the breadsticks for 10-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Lamb & Olive Flatbreads

The Kalamata olives in this recipe provide a briny sweetness and the anise notes from the fennel really cuts through the juicy lamb in this delicious dish by James Strawbridge. Try serving with asparagus, preserved lemon and multigrain cous cous.

Ingredients

For the lamb:
1 small leg of lamb
2 tbsp shawarma spice paste
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 tsp smoked sea salt
200g Kalamata olives
1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
6 dates
200ml red wine

For the asparagus:
8 asparagus spears
2 preserved lemons, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chermoula
2 tsp olive oil

To serve:
Multi grain cous cous
Flatbreads
Natural yogurt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Rub your lamb with oil, salt and the spice paste. Next sear the lamb in a pan on all sides to brown the meat. Add the fennel, garlic and rosemary.

Transfer to the oven and roast on a high temperature for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 160˚C and add in your red wine, olives and dates.

Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes until the lamb is cooked. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and slice the lamb returning it to the pan with your olive and wine sauce.

Next prepare your asparagus by simply cooking for 3-5 minutes in a frying pan with chermoula and preserved lemon.

Warm the flatbreads and serve with couscous, grilled asparagus and a good handful of chopped lamb and juicy olives. Top with a dollop of yogurt and fresh herbs.