Bright, citrusy, and bursting with flavor and texture, this Fennel Orange Seared Scallop Salad with Pignoli Nuts is a restaurant quality dish you can whip up at home in minutes. Sweet caramelized scallops meet crisp fennel, juicy orange segments, and buttery pignolis for a refreshing, palate pleasing salad that tastes like pure sunshine on a plate.
Health Benefits of, and How to Prepare Fennel
Fennel is one of my favorite fall vegetables. Growing up in an Italian family, we would eat sliced fennel as a digestive thanks to its’ fibers and essential oil called anethole, which are just one of many benefits. Fennel has anti-inflammatory compounds and prebiotics which make it an all around powerhouse for gut health. It’s also a good source of potassium and magnesium, which support heart health.
I’m using it raw here in this Seared Scallop Salad, but fennel can be a delicious ingredient to cooked meals too, adding a different dimension of flavors, like my Italian Fennel Saffron Fish Stew and Bacon Bourbon Apple Fennel Chicken
To prepare, trim the fronds and root end, remove and discard the outer layer, then cut into quarters, and remove and discard the root on the inside. Those parts of the fennel bulb are very tough and fibrous to eat raw. If you are cooking fennel bulb, you can likely salvage the outer layer because cooking the fennel will soften it, but it is the oldest part of bulb, so using it or tossing it will depend on how tough it is. A larger fennel bulb will have a tougher outer layer. Once fennel is cut open, the exposed cut areas will begin to oxidize so be sure to store leftover raw fennel in a container in the fridge and use within two days.
Instagram Tutorial: Fennel Orange Seared Scallop Salad With Pignoli Nuts
How to Choose Scallops
When choosing scallops, be sure to buy ones labeled as “dry.” Sea scallops are often soaked in a phosphate solution to whiten the scallops. They absorb this liquid chemical, so you are paying for water weight vs. scallop weight. The phosphate liquid is released in the pan while cooking, and you will wind up with steamed, not seared scallops. If not labeled, ask your fish monger if the scallops are “dry.” If you cook your scallops and notice a soapy liquid in the pan, and the scallops shrink significantly, you have just paid $20+ per pound for phosphate and water saturated scallops. Dry scallops do not release liquid and will beautifully sear and caramelize. Be sure to rinse, and pat until very dry so they do not splatter in the hot buttered pan. There may be a small muscle on the side of the scallop that needs to be gently peeled off and discarded.
Health Benefits of Citrus – Oranges, Lemons, Limes
It’s citrus season, and I’m brightening this up with a Cara Cara orange, a sweet and less acidic variety with a pink-ish flesh. This variety is seedless, and rich in vitamin C and lycopene, a powerful anticancer carotenoid.
Toasting the pignolis (aka pine nuts) will bring out the buttery flavor. Because they are so small, there’s a fine line between toasted and burnt. I like to toast mine in bulk in a toaster oven on parchment paper. I set the toaster oven on a light toast setting so it will automatically go off without having to watch the pignolis too closely. Once they cool, store in a jar. Pignolis have omega 3’s and pinoleic acid supporting brain and heart health.
Recipe: Fennel Orange Seared Scallop Salad With Pignoli Nuts aka Pine Nuts
Ingredients For Seared Scallops Fennel Orange Pignoli Nut Salad
5 Scallops
2 cups mixed greens
1 cup packed shaved fennel
1 orange, segmented
Grass fed butter
1 tbsp medium course cornmeal
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp toasted pignoli nuts
Dressing:
Juice from squeezed orange pith
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Pinch fine sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
How to Prepare Seared Scallop Fennel Orange Salad with Pignoli Nuts
Trim fennel by cutting off root end and fronds, then peel off outer layer of fennel and discard
Cut in quarters, trim and discard inner tough root, then slice thinly until you have one cup, then tightly wrap and store the rest
Trim orange by cutting away the peel, then with a pairing knife, remove segments by slicing between the membrane
Do this over a bowl so you can catch the juice that drips out to use for the dressing
Once the segments are removed, squeeze the membrane over the bowl to catch remaining orange juice
Arrange greens on a plate, top with fennel, then orange segments
Mix cornmeal and Old Bay in a small bowl
Remove muscle from side of scallops, rinse, and pat dry with a paper towel
Heat a skillet and melt grass fed butter
Coat scallops in cornmeal mixture and sear in hot skillet two minutes per side
Meanwhile mix dressing ingredients
Arrange scallops on salad and drizzle with dressing
Sprinkle pignoli nuts on top and serve
