If scallops are on a menu, I tend to order them. If they are part of a surprise tasting menu, I am like hello baby. They have to be in my top 10 and I love to see what they are paired with. I think scallops with black pudding or chorizo have been done to death a bit, don’t get me wrong, I will still devour them. But I love to see something a bit different. I recently had a lovely scallop dish with a creative combination of fennel and blood orange when eating at The Bonnie Badger.
We just love to cook scallops at home too and I loved this dish so much that I just had to hop on the blog and share. This would make an amazing starter or main course. It’s pretty light so I would suggest you get some nice bread or a carb dish of your choice to have on the side. Or why not go all out as part of 3 light courses to hook up that weekend mojo.
Scallops with Thai salad
Fresh large scallops – if a main, I like to do around 5 per person, 3 for a starter.
Thai Dressing:
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- Pinch chilli flakes
- Mint leaves
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander
For the salad
- 1 small carrot, topped, tailed and peeled
- 2 spring onions, topped and tailed
- 1 small ripe mango
- 50g mange tout, shredded
- handful of fresh coriander, washed
- 200g watercress or lamb’s lettuce, washed
- 50g salted cashew nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli finely chopped – I like it spicy so keep the seeds in
METHOD
Find a large bowl. Use a potato peeler to shave long, thin strips off the carrot. The thin strips work well for texture. Cut the spring onions into long shreds and place these in the bowl with the carrot. Add the sliced mango, mange tout, coriander, salad leaves, cashew nuts and chilli and lightly toss together with your hands. Cover and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Scallops:
Heat a frying pan until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of oil or butter to heat. Lay the scallops in the pan. Sear for 45 seconds without moving them or you won’t achieve a good caramelised crust then use tongs to turn them over and cook for another 30 seconds. Flip them back over and cook for a further 30 seconds on the first side, then remove them from the pan. Season with a little salt.
Divide the scallops between the plates so that the most caramelised side is uppermost. Toss the salad with 2 tablespoons of dressing then place a mound beside the scallops. Drizzle round a little more dressing and an extra squeeze of lime. The dressing is so good you may want more, I can’t get enough of it. I like to keep a bit extra in the fridge, then the next day I will whip up a mango and avocado salad and throw some spicy chicken wings in the oven or some salmon fillets, then serve with the salad and dressing.
This is proper feel good food that happens to be cram packed with all the good nutrients. It is a little effort to make the salad, but like making a good soup or casserole, it is so worth it.
Enjoy. You got this.
Jojo Fraser is a mega foodie and she loves trying new recipes and eating out. She is also an award-winning mental health researcher, author, podcaster and keynote speaker, dubbed as ‘the Queen of positivity and a kindness advocate. She is a Tedx speaker and a regular contributor on BBC radio. Jojo is known for normalising discussions around our mental, emotional and spiritual health, making it accessible and relatable to all. She has quickly grown a reputation for having a huge impact even on the most sceptical of people. She was a finalist for ‘ Scottish Inspirational influencer of the year 2022’.
Connect with her across social @jojofrasermojo
Instagram (the old account was hacked)
Listen to her Tedx talk about the power of removing our masks.
Contact – mummyjojoblog@gmail.com
