Almond-Crusted Scallops

Name: Almond-Crusted Scallops
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 tbsp sunflower oil; 120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup verjuice, or lime juice to taste; 100 g/3½ oz/7 tbsp cold salted butter, diced; 2 wedges of Preserved Lemon, rind rinsed and finely chopped; 60 g/2¼ oz/⅓ cup dates, pitted and roughly chopped; sea salt; Couscous, to serve; Fattoush Salad, Undressed Herb Salad or Shaved Beetroot, Radish & Grapefruit Salad, to serve; 1 tsp ground mahlab (optional); 100 g/3½ oz/1 cup ground almonds; 16 scallops, about 500 g/1 lb 2 oz; 2 eggs

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
20 min

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

About

These plump scallops are inspired by North African flavours, and their gentle sweetness is highlighted by the dates, nutty almonds and subtle fragrance of mahlab. The sharpness of the preserved lemons and verjuice works well to balance it out, and the buttery goodness is always welcome.

Ingredients

100 g/3½ oz/1 cup ground almonds
1

Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

Put the ground almonds and mahlab, if using, in a large mixing bowl, mix well and season to taste with salt.
Break the eggs into another bowl and whisk well. Toss the scallops in the whisked egg to coat. Remove them from the egg, shaking them to remove any excess egg, then add them to the ground almond mixture. Toss again to coat.
Heat the oil in a fr