Spiced Scallops With Lemon Grape Relish

Serves 4

This is a wonderful dinner. I love a nice elegant dinner on the weekend and I really like it to be simple to prepare. I love grapes in a relish or a salsa to accompany seafood. I serve the scallops over spiralized Chayote “noodles”. The mild flavor and the slight crunch of the choyote perfectly complements the scallops. I also find that brining thawed frozen scallops results in a fresher tasting scallop!

Ingredients:

Lemon Grape Relish - for half recipe, cut in half, but be generous, this relish is fantastic

1 medium lemon

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup of seedless green grapes at room temperature, quartered

2 Tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint, finely chopped

For Brining:

⅓ cup kosher salt plus more for seasoning

1 cup hot water

4 cups ice water

Scallops:

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 Tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 Tsp ground ginger

16 large sea scallops (1.5 lbs), rinsed in cold water, patted dry

Sea Salt

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 spiralized Chayotes (for serving)

Instructions:

1. Brining: In a medium-sized bowl combine salt and hot water, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add ice water to cool the brine. Add scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes. Line a sheet pan with paper towels, set aside.

2. Drain the scallops, rinse under cold water, and then arrange in a layer on the paper towel-lined sheet pan. Place another paper towel on top of the scallops and gently pat scallops. Remove as much surface moisture as possible for the best browning results when cooked.

3. Lemon Grape Relish: Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the lemon in strips (yellow part only). Reserve the rest of the lemon to squeeze over completed dish. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine lemon zest, 1/2 cup water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces to about 1 Tbsp – about 10 minutes.

4. Drain, rinse the zest, drain again, and pat dry. Finely mince the lemon zest. Add the grapes, 2 Tbsp olive oil, scallions, cilantro, and mint. Set aside.

5. Scallops: On a flat dish combine the cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. Season scallops salt and pepper and coat them with the spice mixture (tossing them in a plastic bag filled with the spice mixture works as well).

6. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet on medium- high heat. Add half of the scallops and cook, turning once, until seared on the outside but still translucent in the center, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a warm plate. Repeat with the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and scallops.

7. Chayote: Add 3/4 tsp lemon olive oil, and the chayote. Cook for 1 min, add some wine (or water) and cook for 1 more minute. Divide onto 4 plates, and top with relish and scallops.

8. Cut the reserved lemon into quarters and squeeze over the scallops and relish, to taste. Best served immediately.