Chef's Recipes

Chicken and sweetcorn soup with seared scallops

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chicken and sweetcorn soup with seared scallops by Pettavel's Matt Dempsey

By Matt Dempsey
  • 10 mins preparation
  • 7 hrs 30 mins cooking plus chilling
  • Serves 4
  • Print
    Print
Chicken and sweetcorn soup with seared scallops
Pettavel is my favourite Geelong haunt. Could you sweet-talk chef Matt Dempsey into sharing his recipe for chicken and corn soup.”
Nicole Stevens, Albert Park, Vic
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp clarified butter (see note)
  • 12 scallops, roe removed
  • To taste: dry sherry
  • To serve: green tops of 4 green onions, cut into julienne, placed in iced water
Dark chicken stock
  • 500 gm each chicken carcasses and wings
  • 1 carrot, coarsley chopped
  • 1 onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 stalk of celery, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • ¼ tsp black peppercorns
Green onion oil
  • 100 ml cottonseed or grapeseed oil
  • 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
Corn purée
  • 2 cobs of corn, husks and silks removed
  • 50 gm butter
  • 2 golden shallots, finely diced
  • 100 ml dry sherry

Method

Main
  • 1
    For chicken stock, preheat oven to 200C, roast chicken carcasses and wings in a roasting pan for 40 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a large heavy-based saucepan, add remaining ingredients and 4 litres of water or enough to cover bones, bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, discard solids, return to pan and bring to the boil. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes or until reduced to 600ml. Strain in a muslin-lined sieve, cool, then refrigerate for 2 hours or until a layer of fat forms on top.
  • 2
    For green onion oil, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until it reaches 60C, transfer to a blender, add onion and process until smooth. Makes ½ cup.
  • 3
    For corn purée, use a knife to remove kernels. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add corn and shallots and cook for 3 minutes or until starting to soften. Deglaze with sherry, cover, cook for 5 minutes or until corn is soft, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve and keep warm.
  • 4
    Using a spoon, scrape and discard fat from stock, heat stock in a saucepan over medium heat, add sherry to taste and season.
  • 5
    Heat clarified butter in a pan over medium heat, cook scallops for 30 seconds on each side or until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
  • 6
    Drain onion tops and pat dry, divide purée between bowls, top with scallops, drizzle with 2 tsp of green onion oil, scatter with onion tops, ladle over stock and serve.

Notes

For clarified butter, melt cold cubed butter until fat separates from milky solids, pour into a jug, stand, skim surface then pour off clear butter and reserve, discarding milk fat. 250gm butter will yield 225ml of clarified butter. Clarified butter or ghee is available form supermarkets.

SHAREPIN
  • undefined: Matt Dempsey