Warm spring salad of prawns and scallops

ingredients

• Warm spring salad of prawns and scallops

  • 500 gram fresh broad beans (or 250g frozen broad beans)
  • 12 frozen prawns
  • 12 scallops, trimmed and rinsed
  • 150 gram broccolini, trimmed, and halved down the length if thick, or 12 asparagus spears, trimmed
  • 1 young cos lettuce, torn apart, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • finely grated zest 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • bunch spring onions, trimmed and cut into short lengths
  • 2 tablespoon chopped chervil or 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

method

• Warm spring salad of prawns and scallops

  • 1

    Prepare broad beans first. If fresh, remove them from their pods and drop them into a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water. Return to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh with cold water. If using frozen broad beans, cook in the same manner but for 3 minutes only once the water returns to the boil. Next, remove beans from their skins.

  • 2

    Twist heads off prawns and peel away the shells. Slit down the back of each prawn with a small sharp knife and gently extract the black or red vein. Rinse prawns and pat dry with paper towels.

  • 3

    Plunge broccolini or asparagus spears into a saucepan of gently boiling salted water and cook for 2–3 minutes, depending on thickness of vegetable – just until they lose their hard crunch. Drain, refresh with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut each asparagus spear in half and if the broccolini stems are thick, cut them in half, too.

  • 4

    Put lettuce leaves in a large salad bowl, sprinkle over a scant ¼ teaspoon salt, the lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Arrange broad beans and broccolini or asparagus on top of salad. Toss gently.

  • 5

    Put the last 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy-based frying pan, set it over a low to medium heat and add the spring onions. Cook for 3–4 minutes, or until spring onions are just wilting. Transfer to a side plate.

  • 6

    Increase heat to high and add prawns and scallops. Cook until prawns are pink and scallops are just cooked through.

  • 7

    Sprinkle over lemon zest, grind over black pepper to taste and mix in chosen herb. Return spring onions to pan. Tip contents on top of salad vegetables. Toss lightly and serve immediately.