I love this recipe! I’ve made it for the past eight or so years for Christmas dinner after we’ve eaten all the cioppino, squid pasta, smelts and baccala. It’s crisp, light, flavorful and quite easy to make. The key is the dressing and the key to that dressing is a beautiful olive oil. As per all of my recipes, play around with amounts and always taste everything for the correct seasoning. Depending on how sweet or juicy your navel orange is, your vinaigrette may turn out vastly different each time you make this but no matter what, it will be delicious. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 medium fennel bulb thinly sliced with some fronds reserved
- ½ dozen scallops
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 blood oranges, peeled and sliced
- ½ navel orange for it’s juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup Belle Mille Olive Oil plus more for plating
- 1 lemon halved
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
Recipe:
Slice fennel bulb and place in ice bath for the remainder of your prep.
Make the orange vinaigrette by squeezing half a navel orange into an empty quart container. Add the mustard and vinegar with some salt and pepper and let sit for a few minutes. Add the olive oil and emulsify with an immersion blender or vigorously whisk together.
Pat dry scallops, season both sides with salt and pepper and heat a pan to medium
Add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil and press one side of the scallop onto the pan
Let the scallop alone until it releases from the pan itself and is browned on one side
Flip the scallop and add butter to the pan with a squeeze of lemon, baste each scallop with melted butter for about a minute until cooked through
Assemble salad starting with the fennel, patted dry, the sliced oranges, and the scallops
Garnish with chopped pistachios, fennel fronds, orange vinaigrette, crunchy Maldon salt and a drizzle of olive oil
