Roast asparagus with scallops, ham, lemon and thyme

Spring

There’s nothing quite like the sugary sweetness and delicate texture of freshly cut asparagus. Whether you serve it raw as part of a crunchy crudités platter, with a rich lemony mayonnaise, or roast it, as I do here, with fresh scallops and air-dried ham, it’s a wonderful thing. I love this dish because everything cooks together in the same tray, at the same time, and the whole thing takes only minutes to bring to the table.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

12 fresh hand-dived scallops, ready to cook
12 to 16 fresh spears of asparagus
6 to 8 slices of good air-dried ham
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
A small bunch of thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat your wood oven, or a conventional oven, to 220 to 250C.

Snap the woody ends from the asparagus and scatter the spears over a large roasting tray. Arrange the scallops around the asparagus.

Trickle over the olive oil and season everything well with salt and pepper. Tumble the asparagus and scallops through the oil and seasoning so everything is well coated.

Tuck in the slices of ham, placing some under the scallops and some around the asparagus. Scatter over the thyme leaves.

Place the tray in the hot oven and roast for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once or twice as it cooks. The asparagus should take on a little colour and the ham should crisp up nicely.

Remove from the oven, squeeze over the lemon juice and serve straight away.

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