If there’s one thing Lisa Ahier knows, it’s seafood – the owner of Tofino’s SoBo Restaurant served it for years, drawing on the bounty of the neighbouring Pacific to craft healthy and flavourful dishes for her ever-changing menu. SoBo has closed, but many of Ahier’s popular recipes (such as the Cedar Negroni) are available in her two cookbooks. In her most recent book, Together at SoBo, she shares the formula for what she says is one of her favourite dishes: this Seared Scallop and Quinoa Salad. “It’s just really light and refreshing,” she says. “It’s healthy and delicate; it ticks all the boxes for me and my style of cooking.” Quinoa salad with beets, orange and greens is the base, but the star of the dish for Ahier is the crispy seared scallops. “I’m out here with some of the best seafood in the country, if not the world, and I love to showcase it,” she says.
How to sear the perfect scallop
1. Pat it dry
“The first thing I do is pat the scallops dry with a paper towel,” says Ahier. “The liquid tends to seep out of them.” Now’s the time to season with salt.
2. Ready the pan
“The key elements for a perfectly-seared scallop are: a pan with medium-high walls and a generous amount of oil in the bottom to prevent sticking,” says Ahier. Make sure you’ve allowed the oil to heat up before searing the scallops: “You need to hear that sizzle in the pan. If you start seeing a lot of water coming out of the scallops, stop for a couple of moments and let the pan recover its heat.”
3. Place with space
This part is key: “Do not overcrowd the scallops,” says Ahier. “Overcrowding scallops is the common mistake. If you overfill your pan, you’re just steaming them, and they’re going to become rubber and overcooked for the most part.”
4. Let them sizzle
Getting the timing right is essential – scallops can quickly become overcooked. “This is a really quick process, you know – 2 minutes, 3 minutes,” says Ahier. “Don’t touch the scallops to turn them until they naturally release from the pan. If you’ve tried cooking scallops and you’re not successful, it’s probably because you tried to turn them too quickly and they stuck to the pan and shredded.” What does the perfect scallop look like? “You want a little bit of translucence in the middle. That tiny bit of uncooked scallop in the middle is where the creaminess and richness really comes from.”
Seared Scallop and Quinoa Salad
Seared Scallop and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Quinoa Salad
- 3 beets
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 tbsp salt divided
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups quinoa rinsed
- 1 sweet red pepper finely diced
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 2 cups orange segments
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup mint leaves torn in half
- 2 cups mixed lettuce
Scallops
- ½ cup olive oil
- 8 large scallops
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Quinoa Salad
- Place beets on large sheet of foil. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of the oil and 1 tsp each salt and pepper; wrap and roast on baking sheet until fork tender, about 1 hour. Open foil and let beets sit until cool enough to handle. Rub skins off using hands or paper towel; finely dice.
- Meanwhile, bring 5 litres water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tbsp of the salt and quinoa, and boil on high for 11 minutes. Drain in fine-mesh sieve, then rinse under cold water. Let cool.
- In large bowl, combine beets, quinoa, red pepper, green onions, orange segments, orange juice, mint leaves, the remaining oil and the remaining salt. Gently stir in mixed lettuce until evenly coated.
Scallops
- Heat oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt all over scallops, then place them in pan, flat side down, without overcrowding. Cook without moving them until a deep golden crust forms and they release easily from pan. Flip and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds. Scallops should be caramel-brown on the outside and tender, juicy and translucent on the inside.
- To serve, divide quinoa mixture among plates; top with scallops.
