- 200g/7oz fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 fresh curry leaves
- 75g/2¾oz palm sugar
- 50g/2oz tamarind paste
- pinch salt
- 25g/1oz caster sugar
- 1 apple, cut horizontally into 12 thin slices
- 10g/½oz butter
- 8 thin slices pancetta
- 8 x 1cm/½in thick slices black pudding
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 4 large scallops with roe
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil, to serve
- Bring the ginger, curry leaves, palm sugar, tamarind and 500ml/18fl oz water to the boil in a large saucepan, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, then blend to a fine purée in a food processor. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Heat the caster sugar in a frying pan over a low to medium heat until melted and beginning to caramelise. Add the apple slices and cook in the caramelised sugar for a few seconds before adding the butter. When the butter has melted, add a splash of water to the pan and swirl the contents, without stirring, until the caramel is smooth and the apple slices are coated in caramel.
- Dry-fry the pancetta slices in a non-stick frying pan over a high heat, until crisp on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the black pudding slices to the same pan and dry-fry for 30 seconds only on each side, until just crisp on the outside but still soft on the inside. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Drizzle the scallops with a little of the oil, then add them to the same pan and fry for 1-1½ minutes on each side, or until golden-brown on both sides and just cooked through. Squeeze over the lemon juice then remove the scallops from the pan.
- To serve, cut the scallops in half widthways. Place one disc of caramelised apple into the centre of the serving plates. Top with a small spoonful of the spice purée, then a slice of black pudding, then half a scallop. Repeat the stacking process once more to create two towers on each plate. Drizzle a spoonful of spice purée around the edge of each plate, then top the towers with a couple of pieces of crispy pancetta and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.