Spice and Lime Scallops on a Bed of Herbs

Adapted from Scallops with Spice Oil - Bon Apetit Test Kitchen May 2012 (found on epicurious.com)

It's only been in the last few years that I've tried scallops, but I've aquired quite a taste for them. I don't eat them that often though. I first had them at a local restaurant that did a wonderful job at making them, with flavors of cumin, paprika and lime. I wanted to bring in those flavors when I made them at home. I found the Bon Apetit recipe and replaced the lemon with lime, and instead of using the herbs as a mere garnish, I instead made them the bed for the scallops so it would be a salad. When I made this, I only had parsley, so that is what I used, but I feel that cilantro (in the original recipe) would work nicely with it. Some might find it strange to eat that much parsley, but I am reminded of Joan Didion who once served parsley salad to 40 guests. Her recipe is availble on brainpickings.org.

Note: The spice oil would probably cover 4 servings of scallops, so you will have extra if you make it as written. It is quite tasty though and can be used for other things.

Yield 2 servings
Time 20 minutes
Special equipment: spice mill (or clean coffee grinder or, if you really want to work for it, mortar and pestle.

Ingredients:

For the spice oil -

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• zest of 1 lime (I use a microplane)
• 1 Tbsp or more of fresh lime juice

For the scallops -

• 1 1/2 Tbsp avocado oil (or grapeseed, etc. for high heat cooking)
• 6-8 large or 10-12 medium sea scallops
• kosher salt and pepper
• a little sugar
• 2 cups parsley, chopped or mixed cilantro and parsley with tender stems, rinsed very well
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions: 

For the spice oil -

Grind first 4 ingredients with 1/2 tsp salt to a fine powder in spice mill, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small saucepan with the olive oil and place on medium-low heat. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the oil begins to simmer. Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl, adding the garlic and lime zest immediately. After it has cooled for about 5 minutes, then stir in the lime juice. Season with salt, pepper, and maybe more juice to your tastes.

For the scallops -

In a large skillet, heat the avocado or other oil over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Season scallops with salt and pepper and sprinkle on both sides with a little sugar. Sear on one side until well browned, 2-3 minutes. Using tongs, turn over and cook on the other side until just barely opaque in center, about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, divide the herbs between two large, shallow bowls and drizzle lightly with olive oil and lime juice. Place half the scallops in each dish and spoon over the spice oil, about 2 Tbsp per bowl.