Scallops with Mushrooms

November 14, 2000

On November 5 it was Guy Fawkes night, celebrating the deeds of Guy Fawkes who was caught red-handed trying to blow up the Palace of Westminster in 1605. We went round to friends to watch their kids' fireworks and enjoyed a barbecue while we waited for night to fall.

The husband is a keen fisherman, so the fare included freshly cooked crayfish, scallops tossed in butter with a sprinkling of curry powder and a parsley garnish, and three or four varieties of fish - along with the tradition sausages and kebabs.

The following day we sent off on the second week of our holiday break, motoring across Arthur's Pass to the West Coast. We spent a night in Westport. It's a typical small Kiwi country town with a long main street that didn't look a very hopeful prospect when we went out to search for some food.

However, as The Spouse said: "This is the sort of place where you usually find a place that does a couple of dishes really well." We struck it lucky and found a pub where they truly outdid themselves when it came to serving a beautifully cooked steak. Perfection with a baked potato and a salad selection.

Next day we headed to Nelson, at the top end of the South Island for a few days.

The West Coast certainly breathtaking when it comes to scenery. We wound up through mountain ranges - just a little dusting of snow at this time of the year - down to the seashore, through beautiful farming country, alongside rivers. There were photo opportunities at every turn in the road, and I can see why there were so many overseas visitors exploring the territory in campervans.

As it was pouring when we arrived in Nelson, we decided against eating out and instead bought some local scallops to cook at our motel.

The Spouse spent a year commuting to a job in Nelson five years ago and I would spend holiday breaks there, so it was a nostalgic trip back for us. Nelson is well served when it comes to seafood and seafood restaurants and we certainly made the most of them.

Some new ones had appeared since we were last there, including a very good one, the Harbour Light Store Restaurant on the shore road. Their whitebait main was very reasonably priced, so of course we succumbed. It was as it should be - bursting with whitebait. No prissy rationing here.

Next day we took a trip to Golden Bay. The beaches, like Kaiteriteri pictured above, have - as the name suggests - the most incredible golden sand. The sea was deep blue and everything was remarkably quiet and peaceful, apart from a water taxi dropping off some visitors. In a month or so the place will be humming as holidaymakers throng in.

On the return journey we stopped off at the Mapua Wharf for lunch. It was a favourite haunt of mine when I stayed in Nelson. I would drive out there to visit the smokehouse and buy some of the day's offerings to take home for a summer's dinner. In those days there were a couple of picnic tables on the wharf for those who couldn't wait to get their purchase home. I think one could also buy a salad to go on the side.

The fish is coated in a special brine and left overnight they hot smoked with manuka shavings. The resulting flavour is quite delicious.

No longer is it one of the region's best-kept gourmet secrets. These days there's a licensed restaurant and the smoked seafood remains brilliant. In fact the Smokehouse http://www.smokehouse.co.nz was voted best cafe in the Nelson region this year.

I opted for a small smoked fish platter which included smoked salmon, smoked mussels and three other varieties of fish while The Spouse enthused over his pan-roasted fresh fish.

Nelson is a fast developing wine district. A lot more vines have been planted in the past five years and local wines were prominent on the wine list - we enjoyed a glass of fine chardonnay.

That night we dined out again. I couldn't resist half a dozen raw oysters and then a main that included a seafood mix that had been cooked in a tasty broth with vegetables. It was served, without the broth, but with a side salad.

We set off for home the next morning, stopping along the way by a river for a picnic lunch of smoked trevally and fresh wholemeal bread.

Unfortunately the local sandfly population found our tender limbs so we cut our picnic short and headed on to the hot pools at Hanmer Springs for another soak before heading back to Christchurch. By contrast with the previous week when the weather was dull and overcast, this time it was brilliant sunshine in Hanmer and the pools looked entirely different.

This week's recipe is the one I used when I cooked the scallops. One thing to remember when cooking scallops - don't overdo them or you'll end up with little rubbery disasters. I once judged a seafood recipe competition where one recipe subjected the poor scallops to something like an hour's cooking, starting in a pan and finally doing them to death in the oven.

Scallops with Mushrooms
Serves 2

300g fresh scallops, including coral
1 or 2 shallots, finely sliced
200g small brown mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon butter
1tablespoon light olive oil
1/4 cup white wine (chardonnay is ideal)
1/2 cup light sour cream

Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add the shallots and mushrooms, tossing from time to time over a medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the wine and let the liquid reduce by half. Add the scallops, cover the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until they're opaque then stir in the light sour cream, blending it well with the pan juices. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and heat until it starts to bubble.

Serve immediately. We had it with fluffy white rice and lightly cooked fresh asparagus with a squeeze of lemon. But it would be delicious with chunks of warm Italian ciabatta and a side salad.