I made this for dinner tonight and absolutely fell in love! I am also a kalamata olive lover so I actually made half more of the tapenade than this recipe calls for. Once all the ingredients are ready, this dish does not take long at all to complete (that’s one of the great things about seafood). Lots of flavor! I will definitely be making this dish again. Hope you enjoy as well!
What you will need:
12 fresh/frozen sea scallops (about 1 1/4 lbs total)
1/3 c kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2 tsp orange juice
1/4 tsp anise seeds, crushed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1. Thaw scallops, rinse and pat dry
2. For tapenade, in a small bowl combine olives, green onions, orange peel, orange juice, anise seeds, and cayenne pepper
3. Coat unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over med-high heat. Add scallops and cook 3-6 mins or until scallops are opaque, turning once.
4. Serve with tapenade and if desired sprinkle with more orange peel. Makes 4 servings. (I served this with a parmesan rice side and a baby herb salad).
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 145
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 47 mg
Protein: 24 g
Carbohydrate: 5 g
Fiber 1 g
Sodium: 353 mg
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#1 by Wandering Coyote - December 11th, 2009 at 00:39
This looks delicious, with lots of bright flavour!
#2 by Van Santos - December 11th, 2009 at 10:46
I find Scallops to be interesting – sometimes I love them, other times they are rubbery and blah.
That said, the kalamata olives, orange peel and cayenne pepper mix is unique.
Nice work!
#3 by Bob - December 11th, 2009 at 14:10
You know, it’s weird. I’m not an olive fan but I like tapenade. I’ve never seen one with orange before, it sounds great!
#4 by Eileen Devlin - December 11th, 2009 at 16:42
WC – thank you. For this being my first time making the dish I was very pleased with how it turned out!
Van – I did fear the scallops turning out that way. But as long as they were not overdone, they were tender and not dry. The tapenade is an absolute must to give them the flavor it needed otherwise you’re left with that ’seafood’ taste and smell.
Bob – I think citrus goes well with most seafood anyway. But I agree tapenade with orange is definitely different! If I was to do the dish over again I would probably put a bit more orange peel. The olives are very strong (but I like that) and has the potential to drown out the citrus flavoring.
#5 by Van Santos - December 11th, 2009 at 17:01
Did you do fresh or frozen scallops? I’ve seen (and tasted) a difference between the two…
#6 by Eileen Devlin - December 11th, 2009 at 17:05
Actually I used frozen and it was still very good.