Seared scallops with grapefruit and vanilla

An easy, elegant, dinner-party worthy dish!

I first tasted the heavenly combination of fish, grapefruit and vanilla at one of Ottawa’s consistently delightful restaurants, The Wellington Gastropub. While Chef Chris Deraiche’s dish featured salmon as the centrepiece, I have long suspected the same flavours would be equally delicious with scallops – and I was right! This recipe has vaulted to the very top of my list of dishes that I would eat day after day if I could. Buy the biggest, freshest scallops you can find and transform them into something magical thanks to this outstanding sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 large pink or ruby red grapefruit
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely diced shallots
• 4 tablespoons (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) white wine
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) rice vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds (1 kg) sea scallops
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) minced chives

Method

• With a sharp knife, cut the peel and white pith off the grapefruit. Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut out the segments of the grapefruit, leaving the membrane behind. Put the segments in one bowl and the juice in another.
• Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean pod and add to the grapefruit juice; refrigerate until needed.
• In a small frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat, then add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the white wine and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add the rice vinegar and grapefruit juice. Add grapefruit segments. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Remove and discard any muscle tabs still attached to the sides of the scallops.
• Pat the scallops dry with paper towels then dust lightly with salt and pepper.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallops, cover with a splatter screen if you have one, and cook until they are golden brown on one side (2 – 4 minutes), turn over and cook another 2 – 4 minutes until both sides are golden and the scallops are almost firm to the touch.
• While scallops finish cooking, heat the grapefruit sauce for 2 minutes over medium heat.
• Divide the scallops evenly among four plates. Spoon the sauce and grapefruit segments over top. Sprinkle with chives to finish.

Serves 4.