Okay, this isn’t completely a no-cook meal. It has just a sear. Forgive me!!

I’m not sure what it is about scallops, but lots of people love them and don’t seem to buy them. Every time I cook them, people around me respond positively, but always with some comment or another about how they rarely eat scallops.

Scallops can be expensive, for sure. And when I’m developing a recipe, I have to buy twice the amount of most of my ingredients, because if I mess up (which happens sometimes), I need to have a backup stash of materials. What I did with this recipe was buy frozen scallops instead of fresh. For all you Canadians out there, they were frozen Blue Menu scallops, plain, sustainably sourced, that I bought at Loblaws.

If a product like this is found in Canada, it should not be difficult to find in the US or many other countries, either. You just need to look. Frozen seafood is, a lot of times, more economical than fresh, and if it’s unseasoned, it’s just as good.

Seared Scallops with Fennel Salad

I have to share my salad dressing fear with you. I have a thing. And this thing involves being deathly afraid of making salad dressing. I’ll fearlessly develop anything you can think of in the kitchen, but for some reason, I never know what to do with dressings. Since I had to stifle my salad dressing issues and push through to develop this pink grapefruit vinaigrette, I want to let you know that it ended up being delish! YES!

Just so you know that even I have stupid things that still frighten me in the kitchen, and I cook a LOT.  We all have something, I guess.

Anyhow, this recipe is as gorgeous as it is delicious. Throw it together in no time for a refreshing summer appetizer or meal.

Seared Scallops with Fennel and Pink Grapefruit Salad

Just a tip: searing scallops is not the time to go all low-fat on me. You NEED enough oil in the hot pan to ensure that the scallops don’t stick. Many an expensive scallop has been shredded and ruined by people who wanted to make their dinner a bit lower in fat. Fat, baby, fat. You need to use it here, so do it! Also don’t overcook your scallops or you’ll be able to play tennis with them. Total rubber, trust me.

Seared Scallops with Fennel Salad2

 

 

Print
Fennel and Pink Grapefruit Salad with Seared Scallops and Pink Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
  • 1 lb scallops fresh or frozen and thawed, dried with a paper towel (so they don’t spit when they’re added to the hot pan)
  • 1 T + olive oil
  • 1 fennel bulb fronds trimmed off, and the bulb sliced into strips
  • 1 grapefruit sectioned and trimmed of pith (the white stuff)
  • 1 large avocado peeled and cut into cubes
  • Dressing:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
  • 2 T white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
  • 1.5 T T shallot
  • 1/4 t Grapefruit zest
  • 1 t honey
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat in a nonstick pan.
  2. Carefully lay the scallops in the pan, and sear on both sides, flipping once. Be careful not to overcook them – scallops get rubbery if they’re overcooked!
  3. Set cooked scallops aside.
  4. Make the dressing by combining the dressing ingredients and whisking until emulsified.
  5. Combine the fennel strips, grapefruit sections, and avocado cubes in a bowl and add the desired amount of dressing. Toss very gently to coat.
  6. Plate the salad immediately and distribute the scallops among the plates (number of scallops per plate will vary with the size of scallops you buy)

 

 

Enjoy!!

Fennel salad