Recipes: Butternut Squash Lasagne | Roasted scallop, pea espuma & salad with lemon

THIS week Jean Marie Meny, the new chef at Loopy Lorna’s, shares the secrets of Butternut Squash Lasagne while Paul Whitecross, head chef at Angels with Bagpipes, offers a delicious recipe for scallops.

Butternut squash lasagne (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 medium butternut squash

4 cow milk mozzarella balls

3 table spoons of olive oil

1 bunch of basil leaves

White sauce

60g butter

60g plain flour

1 litre milk

Pinch of salt

Fresh ground pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

200g Parmesan

Lasagne sheets

Method:

Peel and deseed the butternut squash. 
Cut into cubes of around 1.5 cm. Roast 
in the oven at 150c until soft. Cool down. 
In a bowl mix butternut squash, cut 
mozzarella and the chopped basil. Set 
aside.

To make the béchamel, melt the butter and add the flour to make a ‘roux’. Then add in the cold milk. Bring to the boil by whisking. 
Season.

In a deep, oven proof dish, pour a little béchamel to cover the bottom. Make two layers with a lasagne sheet and butternut squash mix followed by a lasagne sheet and béchamel sauce to cover.

Sprinkle Parmesan on the top.

Cook in oven 150/170c for 1 hour until soft and golden.

Serve with a mix salad.

Roasted scallop, pea espuma & salad with lemon (serves 4)

Ingredients:

8 large hand dived scallops

1 table spoon olive oil

Salt

Pepper

80g fresh peas

10g butter

50ml chicken stock

30g pea shoots

8 table spoons of lemon dressing

8 slices of Pancetta crisp

Fennel shavings

12 wild asparagus spears

Lemon dressing 1 lemon juice

1 tea spoon caster sugar

100ml olive oil

1 egg yolk

50ml sparkling water

Pea espuma

400g frozen peas

250g chicken stock with 2 gelatine leaves dissolved

100g double cream

10g butter

Salt & pepper

Method:

For the pea espuma, blanch the peas for about 3 minutes in boiling salted water, then remove and blitz with the chicken stock until smooth.

Add cream and butter and blitz for a further few seconds and sieve.

Adjust seasoning.

Reheat to 60 degrees, then place in a whipper with two charges.

Pancetta crisps

Place pancetta slices on to parchment paper and onto a baking sheet.

Top with parchment paper and another baking sheet and bake until crisp in the oven 140 degrees/ Gas mark 2.

Scallops

Heat a frying pan with the oil, sear the scallops on both sides for about 20-30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cook the peas in the butter and chicken stock, add the wild asparagus and cook till tender.