Seared Scallops with Avocado Lime Compote

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS WITH AVOCADO LIME COMPOTE AND MINT

I am very excited about these seafood delights. Scallops are one of my favorite seafood delicacies, if not my favorite. Salmon and swordfish are up there though.

I may be biased with Heinen’s produce, meat and especially seafood - but I can honestly say that if you’re local to Cleveland or Chicago, the fresh scallops are absolutely the best I have ever found, and cooked. They are also the largest I’ve found. Nothing else is comparable.

I wanted to use some fresh flavors for these delicious scallops. This could easily flow into summer with the use of citrus and avocado. But it’s also a great way to kick off the Spring season.

Cooking scallops can seem intimidating. Partially this is true, because they cook extremely fast. Plus, you can mess them up. But I can assure you, it’s not all that scary. All you really need is a high-heated cast iron skillet, some oil, and a little butter plus these scallops.

On a regular scallop night, I will use olive oil. But today I wanted to try avocado oil. I also noticed that Heinen’s had avocado oil spray! It has a high smoke point, so I wanted to use it to play off the high-heat sear.

Just a 2 minutes on each side. Pro tip: a splash guard pan cover is your friend with hot oil!

Secondary tip: Use tongs to peek under a scallop on the outer rim to see if it’s seared, if not, leave it a little longer. You want a seared-brown ring on the edges.

As a serving option, I also love to use Heinen’s balsamic fig glaze.

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS RECIPE

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 4-5 min | Serving Size: pending scallop count

Scallop Ingredients

• 8 sea scallops

• 1 lime’s juice

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste

• red pepper flakes to taste

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter

• avocado oil spray to coat pan

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Avocado Compote Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Brianna’s Home Style Cilantro Lime Dressing

• 1 avocado, scoop out avocado meat to mix with dressing

• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

Topping Ingredients

• chopped fresh mint to top

• fig balsamic glaze to top - optional

• red pepper flakes, grounded up a bit - optional

Instructions

Wash the sea scallops under cold water.

Line a large plate with a few paper towels. Then with more paper towels, pat the top of the scallops pressing down and letting them dry for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the avocado sauce. In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a fork.

Add the cilantro lime dressing and mix well.

Add in cilantro and mix again.

Cover the sauce with plastic wrap, so that it touches the avocado sauce to prevent browning. Set aside.

To cook the scallops, heat skillet to medium-high heat. Coat the skillet with avocado oil spray, then add the olive oil and butter to melt. (Let it heat up for about 4-5 minutes)

Remove the paper towels from the scallop plate, and spritz with lime juice to both sides.

Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the tops and press down a little to make sure seasoning stays.

Add the scallops into sizzling hot pan, seasoned side down. Making sure the scallops don’t touch each other. Preferably in circles around the skillet. See picture above.

Sear the scallops for about 2 minutes without disruption until golden crust forms. If the scallops are stuck to the pan, that means they are not ready to be flipped. Don’t force it.

Using a tong, flip the scallops and cook the other side for another 2 minutes. If you want to season this side of the scallops you can. It isn’t necessary though. The center of the scallops should be slightly translucent. Overcooking will result in chewy, rubbery scallops.

Transfer the cooked scallops onto a plate and top with avocado compote. Serve immediately with mint and optional balsamic fig glaze.