Scallop Toasties

Once upon a time, way back in the time before toasties, we used to sell a scallop gratin. It was only one for one event, and was surprisingly popular. We then discovered toasties, and the scallop dish faded into the past. Now, having realised that that lovely dish was cheesey and could be a scallop toastie, it’s time to bring it back.

Gratin Scallop Toastie

• Cheese sauce (See the Mac and Cheese toastie for a recipe)
• Sliced black pudding
• King scallops, sliced lengthways
• Cooked cauliflower florets (tiny ones)

Cheesetastic Scallop Toastie

• King scallops, sliced lengthways
• Sliced black pudding
• Gouda

Taste
The Gratin toastie, which was a replica of the dish served from the van, was mind-blowing. The flavours, even the cauliflower, all made happy fun times with the cheese sauce. I love cauliflower cheese, but I’m not a fan of scallops or black pudding. The scallop toastie didn’t care, it just made it work. 8.5/10

With more cheese the scallops were a little lost. You get salty seafood, you miss out on the deeper flavours. Black pudding is great with cheese, so no complaints there, but this felt like a quick and easy version of the gratin, rather than an improvement. 7.5/10

Appeal
Not only do they swim like a muppet speaks, scallops are a sexy ingredient. I think this would sell. 8/10

Suitability as a signature
Once again, us experimenting with seafood makes it hard to justify signature status. If we were just a fraction less totally landlocked. Then again this one has history. I like that. 7/10

Difficulty rating
Cooking scallops is not hard, but cooking them just right is a little trickier. Then you also need the tasty
sauce. The scallop toastie does not exactly lend itself to quick assembly straight from the fridge.

Summary
It was delicious, and I would recommend it as a great excuse to try scallops. It was also unbelievably filling, which was surprising. I managed about half of my usual amount.