Pecan Crusted Scallops

We went to Aldi today and it strikes me as odd or perhaps apropos that I spent $60 on primarily cheese. And a binge purchase-- scallops.

I have been so hungry for scallops. I got twelve jumbo scallops for $10. 

I decided to crust them in pecans. Normally one would grind the pecans and mix them with good quality breadcrumbs but I went gluten free and just used pecans.

I found some recipes online but didn't like the sound of any of them so I used them as a base. I found one that served with orange butter (1/2 cup orange juice to 2 tablespoons butter). I wanted mango butter. So I took 2/3 cup of frozen mango chunks, thawed them in the microwave with water, and puréed them in the food processor. I added three tablespoons butter and processed it with the mango.

I put this mix on the stove so the heat would melt it partially but not reduce it to liquid completely.

Next I put 1 cup pecan halves into the food processor, figuring a touch of mango and butter wouldn't hurt. Ground those as much as I could.

To flavor my scallops and make them sticky for my pecans, I whisked together:

- three tablespoons honey

- about one and a half tablespoons Briana's Blush Vinaigrette 

- about one teaspoon ground ginger

(The inside of the scallops ended up tasting like maple syrup when they were done. Not sure why.)

I rolled each scallop into this sticky mess and pressed it into the ground pecans. I arranged them in a Pyrex dish, poured the extra goop on them and baked at 425 for twelve minutes.

I served with a nice dollop of the butter, put some extra butter on the plate for the Brussel sprouts and used my mother-in-law's leftover zucchini pie as a compliment. Really good stuff.