I invited a good friend for dinner this weekend. Given her penchant for fish, I visited my local fish market and was instantly taken with the fresh scallops which were extraordinarily plump and succulent. I bought a dozen.

I didn’t want to make anything too fancy. This little treat worked perfectly. She suggested I wrote it up for GreatGrub. Accordingly, here it is.

Ready

• A handful of scallops
• French bread (or whatever you fancy)
• Olive oil

For the salsa

• 1 shallot (finely chopped)
• A clutch of mint (chopped)
• 1 or 2 limes (or lemons)
• 2 red chillies (finely chopped)
• Some olive oil

Set

• Grill or skillet (preferably a ridged one)
• Bowl

Go

1. Prepare the salsa by combining the shallots, chillies and mint. Squeeze over the lime juice and add a good glug of olive oil until it looks and tastes good.
2. Brush the scallops with olive oil and season with a some fine sea salt.
3. Slice the French bread at an angle and not too thick. Drizzle with olive oil and either grill or toast in an oven.
4. Sear the scallops for no more than a minute or two each side.
5. Layer the scallops on a slice of bread and drizzle the salsa over the top.

What you should know

I served this on a bed of watercress salad with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. I imagine a dollop of sour cream on the scallops might also work well.