After buying a whole bag of scallops during our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, we had more than we could consume in one meal, so I decided to try something new: Scallops With Tortilla Crust. The delicious aroma of this dish had me craving for more even after the last bite.
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When my 2 daughters were younger, I made a much more basic version of this dish. We stocked up on massive scallops during our camping trip to Cape Cod. I put the Pringles as a crust on the scallops because we didn’t have much else to season them with, and we had a fairly basic torn lettuce salad on the side. Meals were prepared and served from a mess kit.
When we go camping, we go to town for the cuisine.
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High-quality scallops are essential for this recipe, which I have made many times with varying degrees of success over the years. Make sure the items you buy frozen have only been flash-frozen once. A slightly pink hue and a pleasant aroma are indicators of freshness. Finding fresh scallops and tropical fruit for the salsa makes the rest of the process simple.
I opted for a corn tortilla crust to complement the tropical fruit salsa I served with my scallops in Hawaii. With the sweet and luscious salsa, the saltiness and crunchiness of the crushed tortilla chips really shine.
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These were prepared in Hawaii, but the recipe is universal.
Ingredients:
For the Salsa:
- 1/3 cup of papaya(chopped)
- 1/3 cup of pineapple (chopped)
- 1 tbsp. of roasted jalapeno (chopped)
- 1 tsp. of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. of fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp. of scallion (chopped)
- salt and pepper
For the Scallops:
- a small handful of tortilla chips
- 8 pcs. of large sea scallops
- 1 small egg
- 1 tbsp. of olive oil
Instructions:
- Put together all the components for the salsa and set them aside. Adapt the amounts to your needs.
- Make a coarse meal from the tortilla chips by pulverizing them in a blender or food processor. You can also use the back of a spoon to smash them by hand. About a quarter cup should be the final result. Place on a broad, level platter. You should clean your scallops by rinsing them and then pat them dry. In a little bowl, lightly beat the egg.
- Roll each scallop in the ground tortilla chips, dip it in the egg, and press it down gently on both flat sides.
- One tablespoon of olive oil should be heated in a nonstick pan set over medium heat.
- Cook the scallops for about 2 minutes on the first side in a hot pan. There ought to be a satisfying sizzling noise. When the scallops are beautifully browned on one side, flip them over and cook until both sides are browned. The scallops barely become opaque in the center.
- Put the salsa on a plate and serve it right away!