Scallop Crudo with Orange & Burnt Chilli Vinagrete

by Ixta Belfrage, featured in Fusão

Published by Ebury

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Introduction

This impressive starter comes together in less than 10 minutes. I love the sweet, buttery flavour of raw scallops, but you can pan-fry them if you prefer. To do this, dry the scallops well and season generously with salt. Heat butter and olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and cook the scallops for 3 minutes on the first side, pressing down to form a golden brown crust, then for 1 minute on the other side.

The vinagrete pairs beautifully with all kinds of seafood – spoon it over oysters or serve it alongside grilled prawns or fish.

And feel free to experiment with other sweet citrus in the vinagrete – tangerine, clementine, orange, blood orange, for example. Just make sure whatever you’re using is sweet and ripe. When a dish contains so few ingredients it’s incredibly important that those ingredients are of good quality, so avoid bland, underripe citrus.

As featured in

Fusão

Image of Ixta Belfrage's Scallop Crudo — Photo by Kim Lightbody and Pedro Pinho

Ingredients

Serves: 4

20 grams ghee (homemade or shop-bought from a jar, not from a tin) or salted butter
8 scallops (cleaned and roe removed)
flaked sea salt
1 lime (to serve)

ORANGE VINAGRETE

1 Scotch bonnet chilli
1 ripe, sweet orange
80 grams sweet cherry tomatoes (deseeded and finely diced)
30 grams banana shallots (finely diced, about 1 medium)
25 grams rice vinegar
5 grams runny honey (or maple/agave syrup)
juice of 1 lime
½ small garlic clove (grated/crushed)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Method

Scallop Crudo with Orange & Burnt Chilli Vinagrete is a guest recipe by Ixta Belfrage so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Start with the vinagrete. Place a pan on a high heat and once very hot, add the Scotch bonnet and cook, turning every now and then, until charred all over (3–5 minutes). Alternatively, use tongs to hold the chilli and char it directly over an open flame.
Use a sharp knife to remove the top and bottom of the orange, then slice away the skin and outer pith. Cut between the pith to remove the segments, then chop into ¾cm pieces. You want about 60g of chopped flesh.
Place the orange flesh in a bowl and mix together with all the remaining ingredients for the vinagrete.
Deseed the charred chilli, then finely chop it (don’t peel, you want bits of charred skin). Add to the vinagrete a little at a time to get your desired heat level.
Melt the ghee in a small saucepan, then leave to cool for a few minutes (not long enough that it sets, you want it to be liquid and warm, but not piping hot).
Halve the scallops widthways and arrange on a platter. Sprinkle generously with flaked salt.
Spoon the melted ghee over the scallops, then follow with the vinagrete. Squeeze over plenty of fresh lime juice and serve.