This recipe is for delicious and fresh Scallops Italian Style. This dish is both easy and quick to make. These scallops Italian style are great to serve both as a starter, main course or to include in a sharing dinner. This dish is both gluten, grain free and low carb.
Scallops are one of my favorite seafoods, and they’re really so useful and pairs well with so many different ingredients. I usually like to serve scallops as a starter. But this dish is can be served both as a starter, main dish or included in a sharing dinner. I wanted to make a this dish with an Italian touch hence pairing them with tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. These pan fried scallops are served on a bed of creamy cauliflower purée, cherry tomatoes and a warm balsamic dressing. I love how the warm balsamic dressing lifts this dish adding a nice warm contrast to the fresh cold tomatoes. Imagine a bite of soft creamy cauliflower purée, with the delicate yet salty scallop, juicy sweet tomatoes and the warm balsamic vinegar. Its just a match made in heaven! This dish is both gluten, grain free and low carb.
A few tips:
- Make sure to use good quality tomatoes that are both juicy and sweet. Don’t use the cheap bland and tasteless once. It really makes such a big difference.
- Remove the muscles from the scallops before frying them.
- Make sure to pat dry the scallops thoroughly before frying them. Otherwise you will end up cooking them instead of searing them.
- The pan should be really hot before you start frying the scallops. You want them to get golden brown and warm on the inside, but still not fry them for too long so they get fully cooked through and dry.
- The amount go dijon mustard can be adapted according to taste. I love to use quite much, so that you get a punchy flavor from the cauliflower purée.
Ingredients for these Scallops Italian Style:
- Scallops
- Basil
- Cauliflower
- Dijon mustard
- Cumin
- Italian honey tomatoes (or regular tomatoes, but they should be good quality and sweet)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon
- Honey
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil or Butter
Other recipes you might like:
- Scallop Carpaccio with Avocado Cream & Fish Roe
- Spicy Scallops with Brussel Sprouts & Shiitake
- Scallop Bites with Caviar & Shrimps (Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Scallops with Spicy Mango Salsa
- Summer Fruit Scallop Ceviche (Gluten, Grain, Oil Free & Low Carb)
- Baked Cod with Chanterelles & Lingonberries (Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Harissa Fried Shrimps with Cauliflower Purée & Summer Vegetables
- Shrimp & Mango Tostadas (Gluten Free)
- Salmon & Avocado Poké Tartare (Gluten Free)
- Grilled Nectarine & Tiger Prawns Salad (Gluten & Grain Free)
- Mango Ceviche with Mixed Fish & Seafood (Gluten, Grain, Oil Free & Low Carb)
- Moule In Spicy Tomato Sauce (Gluten, Grain, Dairy Free & Low Carb)
Scallops Italian Style (Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cauliflower head cut into smaller pieces
- 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2-1 tsp Cumin
- 6 Scallops
- 8 Italian honey tomatoes (or other good quality tomatoes) queartered
- 4 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tsp Honey
- Sea salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Fresh basil, to garnish roughly chopped
- Olive oil or butter, to fry
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot.
- Add some salt and the cut cauliflower and boil until soft.
- In a small pot add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and honey and let is shimmer on low heat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Drain the cauliflower and mix using a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add dijon mustard, salt and cumin to the cauliflower and mix again until everything is combined. Taste to check if more seasoning is needed. Keep warm.
- Preheat a pan over medium/high heat with some olive oil or butter.
- Season the scallops with sea salt and pepper.
- Fry in the pan for 2-3 minutes on each side (depending on how raw you like them). Don't fry for too long, they should not get dry and fully cooked through.
- Put the cauliflower purée on a plate with scallops on top.
- Place the tomatoes around the califlower purée.
- Add warm balsamic sauce on top and garnish with fresh basil.