Seared scallops, on green asparagus cream, with carpet shell clams and Turri’s extra virgin Garda PDO oil
Below is a splendid recipe, offered by the Caesius Hotel in Bardolino, the ideal place for a relaxing and health-restoring holiday on the shores of Lake Garda. This hotel, located only a few minutes away from the heart of Bardolino, is also a renowned spa, and the only Ayurvedic centre in Italy. The Caesius Hotel is also famous for its top-class restaurant, serving only the best and most genuine local products: a real therapeutic cuisine, satisfying every need with its dietetic and gourmand dishes.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4): 8 scallops, roes off, 1 kg carpet shell clams, 10 green asparagus, 2 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 leek, 50 g Garda PDO extra virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
For the asparagus cream: chop the onion finely, sauté in a little extra virgin olive oil, add the asparagus, diced, and cover with an adequate amount of vegetable broth. Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
Pour some extra-virgin olive oil into a non-stick pan, add a clove of garlic and sauté until it starts to turn golden brown. Add the clams, season with a little salt and cover the pan with a lid. Leave over high heat for about 5 minutes, then discard all unopened clams.
Sear the scallops, seasoned with salt and drizzled with olive oil, on a sizzling-hot griddle.
To serve: spoon the asparagus cream onto a dish, and place the scallops and clams on top. Garnish with leek rings fried in batter.
Important: to clean the clams properly, use a large container or bowl, and fill it with a weak brine solution (salt and water). The clams should be left to soak in it for at least a couple of hours, so as to remove all traces of grit and sand. Every so often, shuffle them and change their water: the clams will be ready once the water is clean.
