PAN SEARED SALMON AND SCALLOPS WITH MACADAMIA-CILANTRO PESTO

Pan Seared Salmon and Scallops with Macadamia-Cilantro Pesto image

Try to get wild Alaskan king salmon if it's in season. But any salmon will do, just make sure it's fresh. However, if there are no good quality scallops available, just omit them.

Provided by Ryan Nomura

Time 40m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted macadamia nut pieces
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¾ cup macadamia nut oil, or more as needed
Kosher salt to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 (6 ounce) salmon fillets, with skin
16 large (U-10) scallops, tendon removed
kosher salt to taste

Steps:

Prepare macadamia-cilantro pesto by placing macadamia nuts, cilantro, green onion, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and macadamia nut oil into the bowl of a blender. Puree until smooth, adding more oil if needed; season to taste with kosher salt.
Heat two very large skillets over medium-high heat with two tablespoons of oil each until smoking. Season the salmon and scallops to taste with kosher salt. Sear salmon fillets, meat-side down, until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip over, and cook on the skin-side 5 minutes to desired doneness. Place seared salmon onto serving plates, then sear the scallops until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
To serve, spoon some of the macadamia-cilantro pesto over the salmon, and garnish with two seared scallop pieces.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 530.3 calories, Carbohydrate 5.4 g, Cholesterol 90.2 mg, Fat 39.4 g, Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 39.4 g, SaturatedFat 6.6 g, Sodium 267.4 mg, Sugar 0.6 g