Stay Connected with Fine Cooking
  • Facebook
  • Path
  • Twitter
previous
  • How to Make Chocolate Soufflés
    How to Make Chocolate Soufflés
  • 10-Minute Strawberry Recipes
    10-Minute Strawberry Recipes
  • Win Steven Raichlen’s Must-Have Grilling Tools
    Win Steven Raichlen’s Must-Have Grilling Tools
  • How to Make Barbecued Chicken
    How to Make Barbecued Chicken
  • Strawberry Mojito
    Strawberry Mojito
  • Tour Steven Raichlen's Kitchens
    Tour Steven Raichlen's Kitchens
  • Ingenious Kitchen Tips
    Ingenious Kitchen Tips
  • Recipes Dads Love
    Recipes Dads Love
  • How to Roll a Roulade Cake
    How to Roll a Roulade Cake
  • Quiche Recipe: Create Your Own
    Quiche Recipe: Create Your Own
next
scallop taco

Seared Scallop Tacos with Jicama Peanut Slaw

This is a departure from classic Mexican tacos and is inspired by a chef of modern Mexican cooking, Enrique Olvera, who serves foie gras with this pico at his Mexico City restaurant, Pujol. This dish is called “pico de piñata” because many of the ingredients—the clementines, jicama, and peanuts—are traditionally stuffed inside a piñata. Serves 3-4 Makes 8-10 tacos

For the pico de piñata
1 cup diced (1⁄4 inch) jicama
2 large clementines or 1 navel orange, peeled, including all white pith, and diced (1 cup) plus juice from 1 large clementine or 1⁄2 navel orange
1⁄2 cup chopped red onion
1⁄2 cup chopped chicharrón (fried pork skin; optional)
1⁄4 cup chopped cocktail peanuts
1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro
1 habanero chile, minced
1⁄4 tsp. salt
For the scallops
1 lb. sea scallops, tough ligaments removed
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
Warm 6-inch flour or fresh corn tortillas, for serving

For the pico de piñata

Stir together all the ingredients in a bowl.
 

For the scallops

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot. While the skillet is heating, pat the scallops dry with paper towels and season them with salt.

Add the oil to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Immediately add the scallops, one by one so they aren’t touching, and cook, without moving, until the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes (when the scallops are ready they will move when you shake the pan because their browned crust will release them from the pan). Turn the scallops over and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more.

Cut the scallops into 1⁄2-inch pieces and make tacos with the pico de piñata.

Variations

You can substitute popcorn shrimp for the scallops. Season with salt and sauté, stirring, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

photo: Romulo Yanes
From Book Just Tacos: 100 Delicious Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
October 5, 2011


user reviews