- 400ml/14fl oz fresh chicken stock
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
- 200g/7oz dried haricot beans, soaked overnight in water, then drained
- 10 mussels
- 10 cockles
- 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 sprig thyme
- 150ml/5fl oz white wine
- 4 medium-sized blue prawns, peeled and diced (reserve shells and heads)
- 1 small fennel, diced
- 100g/3½oz wild fennel
- 2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, diced
- 2 large diver caught scallops, removed from the shells, shells kept and cleaned for serving
- 1 tsp lemon thyme leaves
- 1 tsp chopped parsley
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs, toasted in butter
- seaweed, for serving (optional)
- Heat the stock in a saucepan then add the onion, garlic and the rest of the vegetables. Add the drained soaked haricot beans and cook for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. Once cooked remove the roughly chopped carrot and celery and set aside.
- While the beans are cooking, start to cook the shellfish. Clean the mussel and cockle shells. Discard any open ones that do not close when given a sharp tap.
- Heat a saucepan, add the butter and start to cook the shallots, garlic and thyme. Add the mussels, cockles, the heads and tails of the prawns and then the white wine. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for few minutes until all the shellfish open – discard any that do not open during cooking. Pick the meat from the mussels and cockles and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquid.
- Preheat the grill to high or preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
- In another pan, cook the fennel for a couple of minutes in oil, add the tomatoes and then the cooked haricot beans, followed by the mussel stock from cooking the mussels. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and add the prawns and scallops, followed by the reserved meat from the mussels and cockles.
- Add the lemon thyme, parsley, lemon zest and juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, spoon the mixture into a scallop shell for each serving and top with the breadcrumbs. Place under the grill for 30 seconds or a minute (you can stand them on scrunched up balls of kitchen foil to hold them steady if needed). Serve on a bed of seaweed.