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Grilled scallops with lemon-mint Pinot Grigio sauce on crispy pea cakes
These perfectly grilled scallops with lemon-mint and Pinot Grigio sauce are a feast for the eyes and mouth, served atop crispy gluten-free pea cakes and bursting with the fresh flavours of the season.
Servings 4
Ingredients
Crispy rice and pea cakes:
- 3 cups short-grain rice cooled
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- ½ cup peas room temperature
- 2 eggs at room temperature beaten
- About ½ cup basic gluten free flour blend
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, for dipping
- Finely ground gluten free corn flake cereal
- Oil for frying
Grilled scallops:
- 300 grams scallops (If using frozen, defrost; if fresh, keep in refrigerator until ready to use)
Lemon-mint Pinot Grigio sauce:
- 1 whole lemon juiced and zested
- ½ cup fresh mint chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Pinot Grigio
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder or gluten-free flour blend
- 1 bunch watercress or arugula for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the cooked rice, salt, pepper, oregano, mint, peas, 2 beaten eggs and gluten-free flour, and mix to combine well. Working with wet hands, form rice and pea mixture into little balls, and flatten them slightly into the shape of small patties. Arrange on a plate or baking sheet and let set in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Place the egg wash in a shallow bowl, and and corn flake crumbs in another shallow bowl.
- Remove the rice and pea cakes from the fridge. Dip each rice ball briefly in the egg wash, letting the excess drip off, and then dredge it in the corn flake crumbs until well-coated on all sides. Return to the plate or baking sheet, and return to the fridge while you heat the oil.
- In a heavy-bottom pan, pour about 1-inch of frying oil. When oil has heated sufficiently, fry pea cakes in until cooked through and golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the rice balls to a paper towel-lined plate, and set aside.
- To make the scallops, preheat a cast-iron pan to med-high heat. Pat scallops dry, and season well with salt and pepper. Brush gently with olive oil. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, until a nice golden hue is achieved. Remove onto a plate.
- To make sauce, squeeze the juice of one whole lemon into a small saucepan set over low heat. Add chopped mint, sugar and salt, and mix well until sugar fully dissolves. Pour wine into saucepan. Once the mixture heats up, add arrowroot starch or gluten-free flour, and immediately mix well with a fork to combine and avoid lumps. Continue heating for one minute, and then immediately remove from heat.
- To plate, arrange watercress greens at the bottom of a plate. Place crispy pea cake, and top it with 1-3 scallops (depends on size of your scallops - bigger scallops are better). Drizzle grilled scallops with lemon mint and Pinot Grigio sauce. Top with more watercress. Serve immediately.