I never thought I’d love scallops so much, but I sure do. You can dress up the scallops by serving them with fancy saffron or cilantro rice, or keep it simple with some sautéed mushrooms and spinach. Or, a bowl of salad on the side will also do. No matter what you choose to serve them with, they without a doubt can be a part of any lavish three course meal – appetizer, salad or entrée. I usually sear scallops on the days I don’t have much time to cook, but I’m hungry for an upmarket meal. I marinate the scallops in a lime, cilantro marinade and that really takes the flavors of the scallop to another level. Scallops can be very tricky to sear, or so I thought. It’s all about the technique and if you follow my technique like a robot, I swear you will never order scallops at a restaurant or willingly want to spend an atrocious amount of money for something this simple, but yet so wonderfully elegant.
- INGREDIENTS
- • Scallops — 10 to 12
- • Fresh cilantro (coriander) — 1 teaspoon, finely chopped
- • Lime juice— 1/2 a lime or 1 tablespoon
- • Garlic paste — 1 garlic or 1/2 teaspoon
- • Crushed chili flakes — 1/4 teaspoon
- • Ghee or butter — 1/4 teaspoon
- Add the lime juice and rest of the ingredients to the scallops, give it mix and let it all sit for somewhere between 10 to 20 minutes
- Heat a frying pan on high heat. To get the perfect sear, the pan needs to be really hot.
- Add some ghee and let it heat, when you see some smoke, start laying the scallops onto the pan. Do not touch, flip, or move them.
- Cook them for a minute and a half on each side, no more. If you over cook the scallops they will turn hard and chewy.
- Remove and serve.
