Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [35]
SERVES 4 AS AN APPETIZER
Place the scallops in a resealable plastic bag and freeze for 20 minutes to allow for easier slicing.
Zest the orange (you will have about 2½ tablespoons of zest). Cut a ⅛-inch horizontal slice from the middle of the orange. Trim off the remaining pith, then cut the orange flesh into small dice. Set aside. Squeeze the remaining orange to yield ⅓ cup juice.
In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes to a boil. Cook the mixture until it reduces to a syrup (about 2 tablespoons remaining), about 3 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the zest to release its oil into the syrup. Discard the solids and allow the syrup to cool.
Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small skillet over high heat, stirring constantly, until they smell toasted and darken in color, about 2 minutes.
Using a very sharp, thin-bladed slicing knife, cut the scallops horizontally (against the grain) into ⅛-inch slices. Arrange the slices decoratively on 4 small plates. Spoon equal amounts of the syrup over the scallops. Drizzle approximately 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over each portion. Garnish with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds, reserved diced orange, and mint. Carefully distribute a small pinch of Maldon salt over the scallop slices. Serve immediately.
PAIRING: A sauvignon blanc, such as DiStefano 2008, Columbia Valley, Washington, or an Australian riesling.
TIPS FOR SEARING PERFECT CARAMELIZED SCALLOPS
1. Dry your scallops well on a paper towel before searing. A wet scallop will spurt and steam in the pan and take longer to caramelize. Remove the small adductor muscle if it is still attached to the scallop (it gets tough when cooked).
2. Use a pan that conducts heat well; I use a cast-iron skillet. Don’t use a nonstick pan because it is not made for high-heat use and doesn’t caramelize protein very well.
3. Heat your pan over high heat. (Now, many of you will read that, defy me, and turn your heat down to medium high. Trust me, and get your hand off that dial.) Add about 1 tablespoon high-heat vegetable oil. When the oil is very hot, carefully add your scallops, tipping them away from you to minimize splattering oil. If you need to shriek when you do this, so be it.
4. Make sure to allow plenty of room between each scallop; cook them in batches if necessary. Crowded scallops will inhibit the evaporation of moisture and limit caramelization.
5. Very important: At this step, do nothing. Don’t move the scallops. Don’t touch them. Don’t even look at them. Scallops will need at least 2 minutes of contact on this side with that hot pan to create good color (and therefore flavor).
6. After 2 minutes, carefully take the tip of a metal spatula and lift up a corner of a scallop so you can peek beneath it. If you’ve had problems with sticking in the past, either try a different pan or wait a bit longer (the protein will literally release itself from the pan most of the time if you’ve waited long enough and not panicked and gone in there with four spatulas and a crowbar). Do you see a pale, anemic scallop, or are you saying “Hello, beautiful”? If the former, wait a bit longer; if the latter, gently tease the scallop off the bottom of the pan and flip it over.
7. What you do next depends on your likes and dislikes. I cook my scallops, if they are somewhat large (at least ¾ inch tall), for only 1 minute on the opposite side (only 30 seconds if they are smaller). I like my scallops crusty and brown on the top and medium rare in the middle. If you’ve never tried a scallop this way, please do. It will literally taste like a different type of seafood compared to a well-done scallop—a better, more lovely type of seafood.