Sunday 6 October 2013

Toasted coconut scallops

Alan and I had dinner at our local tavern during the week. They had just revamped their menu,  and Wednesday night was "two for one" so we would have been mad not to go. On the menu was "Toasted coconut, caramelised scallops, avocado and cherry tomato crush". It was sublime, absolute divinity. 

The avo was slightly spiced and mashed roughly, with chopped cherry tomatoes running through it, and these delicate scallops, about 12 in all, were sprinkled about and coated in these crisp coconut crumbs. So of course I had to come home, google it  and make my own. We had it last night and it was heaven. 

Here's the recipe for the scallop part. I'll leave it to you to mash your avo and chop the tomatoes. If it helps, I served the whole thing on baby spinach with a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil. I wish I had taken a picture.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups boiling-hot water
¼ teaspoon cayenne or paprika
½ teaspoon salt
200g sea scallops, no shell or roe
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 egg lightly whisked
½ cup vegetable oil
lime wedges to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 190⁰C

In a small bowl stir together coconut and water. Drain coconut in a sieve and pat dry.

On a baking sheet spread coconut in one layer and bake in middle of oven until pale golden, about 10-15 minutes. In a bowl stir together coconut, cayenne, and salt.

Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. In two separate shallow bowls have ready flour and lightly beaten egg. Dredge scallops in flour, shaking off excess. Dip each scallop in egg, letting excess drip off, then coat well with coconut.

Heat a skillet over moderate heat, add the oil until it's pretty hot but not smoking and cook scallops until golden and just cooked through, no mor than 45-60 seconds each side.

Drain scallops on paper towels. Stack on top of avo mash, and serve with lime wedges.