Scallops on Orange Wild Rice

Scallops on Orange Wild Rice

Muse-bouche, a pretty and perfect starter that could well be placed as table décor on the plate setting prior to sitting down, is best served warm. The flavours are delicate, yet each part will be a mouthful of texture and clearly identifiable. It is perfect for a small gathering.

1 ½ cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper

2 cups wild rice

1 freshly grated clove of garlic

Zest  and juice of one orange

12 large scallops, split in half horizontally

3 tbsp salted butter

Zest of one lemon and juice to sprinkle scallos

4 very finely chopped green onions + 1 teaspoonful for topping 

Orange aioli

2 tbsp orange mustard + 1 /2 cup mayonnaise

Boil together the garlic in the chicken stock. Add the wild rice to it and season with salt. Allow it to boil until almost all of it is dry. Add green onions and butter. Gently mix it in with the orange juice. Cover the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes on a very low flame.

Once cooked through, gently fold in the mustard and mayonnaise.

Wash and pat the scallops dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet, add a knob of butter, let it sizzle, and add half of the scallops. Panfry them quickly, turning them once, and sprinkle very lightly with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Cook the rest of the scallops exactly the same way.

To serve, fill each spoon with rice, place the scallop, and drizzle with the prepared orange aioli.

 

 

Sprinkle with some finely chopped green onion and serve.

 

Tips

Scallops need to be cooked on a high flame in a hot pan for only a minute on each side until they caramelise to a pretty golden brown. The caramelization on the scallops will enhance the flavour.

Pick fresh scallops that must smell like the ocean itself. The creamy or pink ones are better in flavour than the white ones.

Tarragon mustard is an option.

 

Substitute quinoa for wild rice if you prefer.

Photo credit: Sheriar Hirjikaka

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is an award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.