C – Jim is a huge foodie.
Not big, just passionate. He follows a few better-known chefs on Facebook. Eric Ripert is one of them. I usually ignore any food pictures he shows me, since I think it will be too hard to make or we will have to go to their restaurant to try it. Of course, Jim says, Why not?
Even knowing what I do, Jim showed me a Meyer lemon sea scallop picture that Eric Ripert took. I was really intrigued. Unfortunately, it was an Instagram picture and there was no recipe. Well, a picture is worth a thousand words … or a recipe idea, at least. I really wanted to try it. After 10 minutes of staring at the photo, I knew we had to try it.
Sea scallops, Meyer lemon pieces, green apple, some red mystery pieces, uni, a small amount of red pepper flakes and some chives. It looked like a good ceviche. I was a bit nervous, since I had never made a protein that wasn’t cooked over heat. Buying scallops from our fish monger and asking them when they came in really eased me. The fresher the fish the better. We got them the day they were delivered.
I mixed the marinade and tasted. Then, adjusted. Tasted it again. It was well balanced. I am not sure how Eric Ripert made his, but ours tasted pretty good. We marinated the thinly sliced scallops overnight. We served them with a few sprinkles of Japanese red pickled radish and purple pickled cucumber and topped with some fresh uni.
The flavors were great. One thing I need to make sure of next time is to remove all of the scallops from the marinade before serving. Then, mix the remaining sauce and serve it. I didn’t do it the first time. The flavors were a bit bitter because of the lemon. Once mixed, the flavors mingled well together. I loved the sweet apples mixed with the lemon. I added sugar to make it well balanced. I didn’t make it too sweet, because I still wanted the Meyer lemon flavor to shine. I loved the small hint of shallot pieces. They added a rich onion flavor to the dish, but didn’t overpower.
| Meyer Lemon Sea Scallop Ceviche with Uni |
- 7 large, fresh sea scallops, sliced horizontally into thirds
- ½ Granny Smith apple, peeled, seeded and chopped in ¼ inch pieces
- ½ Meyer lemon, peeled, removing only the fruit between the membranes
- ½ shallot, minced
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
- A few dashes cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp sugar, or to taste
- 3 Tbsp grapeseed oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp Kyuri Shibazuke (pickled cucumber), brunoise dice
- 1 Tbsp Fukujinzuke (pickled radish), brunoise dice
- 3 chives, diced finely
- 2 pieces fresh uni
- In a small mixing bowl, add apple, Meyer lemon pieces, shallots, Mirin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, sugar, grapeseed oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Make sure to taste to make sure it is well balanced.
- Add sea scallops. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
- Once ready to serve. Remove sea scallops from marinade.
- Mix the marinade well to get the flavors incorporated again.
- Place ½ the sea scallops on the bottom of each plate.
- Top with the marinated apple mixture.
- Sprinkle some of the pickled cucumber and radish on each dish.
- Sprinkle some of the chives over top.
- Place one uni piece on top, in the center of the dish.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
I loved the texture of this dish. The scallops were nice, soft, meaty pieces of fish. The uni was fresh and creamy. Don’t take too much uni in one bite. A little really goes a long way. The apple, pickled radish and cucumber added to the crunchy texture. I loved the look. Serve it to anyone who is a foodie and they will be impressed. A bed of scallops topped with Meyer lemon and apple pieces, bright red and purple tangy bits, a long piece of uni and some green chives. Gorgeous.
Thanks, Eric Ripert, for the inspiration. I am not sure it was even close to yours. But, ours was pretty great tasting.