SEARED SCALLOPS WITH THAI VANILLA-CITRUS BROTH

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH THAI VANILLA-CITRUS BROTH image

Yield 8 people

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

Thai Vanilla-Citrus Broth
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 TBLS fish sauce
Juice of 3 large limes
2 cloves of garlic chopped
3 Thai bird or serrano chiles, seeded and chopped (you may want to use less 1 chile)
1 red or green jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 vanilla bean split lengthwise
1 orange or honey tangerine
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 TBLS canola oil
kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 TBLS unsalted butter
8 large sea scallops, muscle removed
1/2 Haas avocado
cilantro sprigs for garnish (optional)

Steps:

To make the broth, in a small bowl, combine the maple syrup, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, and all the chiles. With the tip of a knife, scrape the seeds from the split vanilla bean into the bowl and then add the empty pod. Whisk until smoooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving. With a knife, supine the orange, letting the sections and any juice drop into the bowl. Repeat with the grapefruit, adding its sections to the orange sections. Set the fruits aside, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the scallops on all sides with salt and white pepper. Add the butter to the skillet and when the butter foams, add the scallops, being careful not to crowd them. Cook the scallops without moving them for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side. Turn the scallops over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or longer until golden brown on the second side and just opaque in the center when tested with the tip of a knife. While the scallops are cooking, peel the avocado half and cut lengthwise into very thin slices. Put 3 or 4 slices in the bottom of each bowl. Then, using a slotted spoon, add 2 or 3 orange sections and 2 or 3 grapefruit sections to each bowl, reserving the remaining citrus juice. To serve, remove the scallops from the heat, and top each bed of fruit with a scallop. Remove and discard the vanilla pod from the broth, and then add the reserved citrus juice, stirring to combine. Spoon an equal amount of the broth over each serving. Garnish iwth the cilantro sprigs and serve immediately.