Never Throw Away Seafood Eggs: Transform Them Into a Gourmet Butter – Method

Apart from the stunning beaches and rugged coastline, this island boasts a remarkable food tradition, deeply grounded in its land and sea. From world-famous local baby potatoes to scallops more succulent and more tender than any tasted anywhere else, Jersey's harvest is unsurpassed. The thing that inspires many most, however, is how island producers and growers are adopting sustainable farming, and in doing so reinventing their culinary destiny with innovation and care.

Recently, I had the privilege to lead a talk at a event, and prepare a welcome dinner for the participants, alongside an motivating organizer. Of course, scallops were a must on my menu, since they're the island at their best: subtle, plump and bursting of the ocean.

Scallops seem to me the perfect embodiment of Jersey's food future: sweet, plump and restorative by design, filtering and refreshing the sea while contributing to create shoreline habitats. Whether cultivated and, importantly, hand-harvested, they're among the eco-friendliest proteins to eat. Yet even, those grew up on the island, don't eat the roes – an often-seen affliction, I fear. Even more reason to champion these rosy morsels, that are far too tasty to throw out. Whipped into butter, they turn into sheer indulgence: melt over the shellfish, mix into rice dishes or just slather on toasted bread.

They can be a bit pricey, though, so I've devised the following method to transform a single scallop into a stunning starter (or three into a satisfying entree) and, by whipping their roe into smoked paprika butter and roasting the scallops in the half-shells with cherry tomatoes and garlic, unused parts becomes a luxury.

This spirit of transformation is central to this approach, which introduced a prize offering support to food pioneers with brand support, guidance and entry to a marketplace. Judged by a panel of respected food experts, the award will be presented during an forthcoming conference. This is focused on supporting concepts that can assist the agricultural networks flourish, across the board, and there's no better a more exciting location for that conversation to start than Jersey.

Scallops Roasted in Roe Butter with Cherry Tomatoes and Crushed Garlic

Yields six as a starter or 2 as a main course

Six roe-on scallops in the half-shell
Eighteen small tomatoes, cut in half
6 garlic cloves, crushed
3 fresh red chillies (eg jalapeno), halved lengthwise, or 1 dash red pepper flakes, or to preference (if desired)
50g unsalted butter
One teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Lemon slices, to accompany
A little sea asparagus, saltwort or six tiny gherkin slices, to decorate (if using)

Prepare the scallops, detaching the eggs from every and leaving the rest of the scallop fixed to the shell (request the fishmonger to do this for you, if need be). Place six halved tomatoes in every shell with the equivalent of smashed garlic cloves and half a red chilli, if using.

Transfer the scallop roes in the jug of an immersion blender (I find it's the most effective method for mixing small amounts), add the spread and spice, and blend smooth. Distribute the butter among the half-shells, making sure every scallop is well covered in the spread.

Heat the grill until it is scorching hot, then put the scallops beneath the heat for six to eight minutes, until charred and bubbling. Present right away, garnished with if desired sea vegetables, agretti, a slice of pickle and/or a drizzle of the pickle juice or a bit of lemon juice.