Fresh from Whitianga

The seafood people came bearing scallops that had been plucked fresh from Whitianga. I can’t resist a fresh scallop so I bought a bag of them for $26. I was hungry and fresh seafood is a weakness. When they are fresh, the are sweet, tender and not at all fishy. They have this this flavour that reminds me of oysters and lobster. I wish there were more words in our vocabulary to define the difference.

Scallops are one of those seafoods that I have yet to overindulge in. Even when we’ve travelled to destinations where scallops are plentiful, we haven’t eaten to our limit.

In New Zealand, we eat both the white adductor muscle and the orange/white coral. They are sold as one. Both the orange and the white part are equally delicious. I would feel cheated if I were served scallops with only the adductor muscle. I might eye the server suspiciously and impore, “Where is the rest of my scallop?!”.

Scallops in the morning?

I woke up thinking about scallops.

The Koala asked, “Can we have scallops for breakfast?”

At first I thought scallops for breakfast was wildly decadent and inappropriate, but when I thought about it, I have eaten scallops for breakfast. Congee (rice porridge) with scallops and sliced chicken was on the menu as a breakfast item at Cafe de Coral (the largest fast food/restaurant chain in Hong Kong). It was mild, comforting and perfect for a wintery breakfast.

Photo from the Café de Coral.

I confess, we didn’t eat the scallops for breakfast. After a decadent cafe brunch, there was an opening for a light but delicious lunch.

Being the first weekend of spring, I wanted to pair these scallops with fresh tasting things.

Fresh produce.

Spring Scallop Salad

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
About 30 scallops
A knob of butter
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes
1 perfectly ripe avocado
1 spring onion
Half a cucumber
1 ripe mango
3 tablespoons mayonnaise

A perfectly ripe avocado makes me immensely happy.

Preparation

1. In a large salad bowl add: cubed tomatoes, peeled and chopped cucumber, cubed avocado, cubed mango, chopped spring onion and mayonnaise. Mix well.
2. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan. Once melted, add scallops and fry, stirring gently until cooked. It won’t take long at all. Just before serving, stir the parsley through the scallops.
3. Divide salad into 3 or 4 bowls and top with pan fried scallops.
4. Eat!

Just before the mayonnaise was added

Sizzling in butter.

Spring Scallop Salad. Fresh and delicious.

Other posts you may be interested in:

A tale of two prawns

Auckland Seafood Festival 2012

Buttery golden pan-fried flounder

Summer rolls with surimi and nectarine