So, hello September. It definitely feels as though we’ve turned a corner. It’s all back-to-school bustle and the feeling we’re bidding proper summertime adieu for another year.

It’s been a funny old summer, with some cracking blue-sky weather interrupted by rather too many blustery, drizzly barbecue-ruining interludes.

And now, the garden appears to have hung up its Panama and is thinking about tinkering about with the central heating. The leaves are starting to curl and lose their colour, and the last showy flowers are wilting a little. The bees are still loving our lavender hedge, which is still in good flower, but it won’t be long before the purple fades to a dusty blue and the garden loses its last bright colour until the spring.

But we do still get some warm days, and in this spirit, I’m offering a recipe that sprung to mind in the heat of July. I was down in Suffolk with family and friends, celebrating my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday, the festivities for which culminated in a rather lovely garden party.

There was plenty of Champagne about, and a selection of delicious canapés, one of which really impressed me.

It was a little sticky skewer comprising a water chestnut, rolled in a little fold of streaky bacon, and glazed with mango chutney in the oven.

It was sweet, salty, sticky and crunchy all at once, and it was incredible.

I made it my business to follow the rapidly-emptying tray about the garden, in order to snaffle a few more than perhaps I was entitled to, but the combination of the crunchy water chestnut, the crispy bacon and the sweet glaze was utterly delicious.

Water chestnuts

So my thanks for this week’s recipe go to our friend Anne Cork of Framlingham, whose little canapés sparked a whole raft of ideas.

I thought, upon seeing them come out of the kitchen, that perhaps they were queen scallops, and as I nibbled on the first few, I started thinking about how adding scallops to these skewers would make for a terrific dish.

I thought perhaps using a fat king scallop might work even better, leaving the shellfish nice and tender within, as the bacon crisps up.

I thought that queenies might become a little too rubbery, given their often minuscule size. But I definitely wanted to retain the water chestnut element for that all-important crunch.

Water chestnuts are one of my favourite ingredients, especially in stir-fries and Asian salads.

Grown underwater all over the far east, these little corms, whilst having little in the way of flavour (I suppose a mild radish is the nearest local equivalent) are incredibly crunchy, and have the advantage of staying so even when cooked, which makes for a most exciting proposition.

I always have a couple of tins in the cupboard at home; they’re invaluable for enlivening a mid-week chicken stir-fry.

So, I had my recipe – plump king scallops, topped with a sliver of chestnut, wrapped in thin streaky bacon, and glazed with sweet mango.

To go with this I knocked up a quick zingy Asian-style slaw, the cool, crunch of which is the perfect foil for the sizzling, sticky scallops. The basic ingredients can be fiddled with according to your personal taste, but I like a lot of chili and sour lime flavours in mine, and this worked well with the scallops.

Up to you, as usual, to feel your way around this recipe. A nice, easy, tasty dish to help see off another summer of fond memories.

For the scallops:

8-12 king scallops, trimmed

12 rashers American-style streaky bacon

1 x 340g jar good mango chutney

2 x 225g tins water chestnuts

A splash of soy sauce

For the oriental slaw:

1 small white cabbage

1 red onion

2 red peppers

1 large carrot

1 x 225g tin bamboo shoots

1 red chili

1 green chili

Red and green chillis

The juice of 2 limes

A little rice wine (or cider) vinegar

A little vegetable oil

A little sesame oil

1 small bunch fresh coriander

A few fresh mint leaves

Method:

First, gently heat the mango chutney and pass through a sieve to make a smooth sauce. Alternatively, whizz in a blender for a few seconds.

Add a splash of soy sauce and set to one side. Open and drain the tins of water chestnuts. Let the bacon come up to room temperature – it is much easier to manage this way – and lay a rasher out on a chopping board. With the back of a heavy kitchen knife, stretch out the bacon a little. This prevents the rasher from shrinking as it cooks. It’s a good technique to remember for roasting game birds and the Christmas chipolatas.

On one end of the rasher place a scallop and top with a slice of water chestnut. Carefully roll up the rasher, keeping it tight, and place on a lightly-oiled or non-stick baking tray. Repeat with the remaining scallops.

Refrigerate until required, and set to with making the slaw. Remove the unkempt outer leaves of the cabbage, and cut the head in half. Remove the thicker central core, and finely shred the cabbage. Put this into a large wide bowl.

Peel and finely slice the onion and add to the cabbage.

Cut the carrot into fine julienne strips and add to the bowl.

Remove the stalks, seeds and membranes from the peppers and slice the flesh into slivers. Add to the bowl.

Drain the bamboo shoots, and slice finely. Add to the bowl, along with enough finely-diced chili to bestow your required level of heat. Drizzle over the lime juice and a little vinegar, and a splash of vegetable oil.

Mix through the slaw with your hands. Add a little sesame oil, being careful as it overpowers easily. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate until required, adding the coriander and mint at the last minute for maximum freshness.

Heat the oven to 240ºC / Gas 9. Bake the scallops for 5 minutes, then brush liberally with the mango glaze, and return to the oven for a further 5-6 minutes. They should be golden and sticky. Pop them under the grill if they’re not quite there, lest you overcook the scallops.

Serve immediately with a good helping of the slaw.