Seared Scallops with Vanilla Sauce and Fresh Mango

Add an exotic touch to your seafood with these elegant seared scallops with vanilla sauce and fresh mango. Served as a starter or as a main, this beautiful dish will be delightful paired with a glass of white wine.

Seared scallops with vanilla sauce and mango

Let’s go fancy today and prepare a lovely seafood dish pairing delicate sea scallops with exotic ingredients. The sweet notes of vanilla pair beautifully with the soft and tender scallops, lightly pan-seared, while mango brings fresh and exotic flavors. Add a few mint leaves to decorate and you get a beautiful dish ready within an hour, that will for sure amaze your taste buds.

A subtle vanilla sauce

Pairing seared scallops with vanilla is pretty unusual but definitely elevates the dish to the next level. Make sure you use real vanilla and in no way vanilla extract, that will never bring the same bold and delicate flavors.

To make the vanilla sauce, you will first need to prepare what French call “a fumet”, consisting of sweating onions and carrots in butter before deglazing them with white wine. Drain and keep the stock exclusively, to which you will then add the cream (liquid or heavy cream, depending on the texture you are looking for). And of course don’t forget the vanilla: extract the seeds and add them to the sauce alongside with the vanilla pod.

Fresh mangoes bring an exotic touch

Use a whole, peeled and stone fresh ripe mango to pair this seared-scallop dish. You can either slice it lengthwise or dice it into cubes and create a lovely pattern in each plate.

I do not recommend the use of previously frozen mangoes however, as they tend to taste bland and as such won’t bring anything special to the dish. Also, make sure the mango you use is not too cold to help releasing its fruity flavors.

What to pair with this dish?

Served as a starter, this seared scallop dish will be perfect served on its own, in a minimalist style. Add just a few leaves of mint to decorate the plate and lightly drizzle the vanilla sauce here and there, while inviting the guests to add more by themselves if they need it too. The idea is to keep the dish frugal, fancy and visually appealing.

If you decide to serve this dish as a main, I recommend you serve it with a side of basmati rice. Another option consists in pairing it with a risotto.

More seafood recipes you’ll love:

• Pan-Seared Scallops with Orange Ginger Sauce
• Beet-Cured Salmon Gravlax with Horseradish
• Salmon Tartare with Avocado & Mango
• Tuna Tartare with Ginger Soy Dressing
• Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna with Zoodles
• Swedish Toast Skagen (Prawn Toasts): 2 ways!

Sea scallops call for a fancy dessert…

• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Chocolate Mousse Raspberry Cake
• Chocolate Profiteroles with Candied Hazelnuts
• Chocolate Eclairs (éclairs au chocolat)
• Rum-Matcha Tiramisu
• Toasted Coconut Tropical Fruit Cake Roll (+ video)

Seared Sea Scallops with Vanilla Sauce and Fresh Mango

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• Author: Delphine Fortin
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Savory
• Cuisine: French recipes

Add an exotic touch to your seafood with these elegant seared scallops with vanilla sauce and fresh mango. Served as a starter or as a main, this beautiful dish will be delightful paired with a glass of white wine.

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Ingredients

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• 1 small leek’s green part, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) butter
• 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, bay)
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 mangoes, peeled, stoned and sliced (or cubed)
• 16 seared sea scallops*
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil**
• Fresh mint leaves, for serving

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Instructions

1. Sweat (stir over low heat) the minced leek’s green part, onions and carrots in butter. Deglaze with white wine and simmer for 30 minutes with the bouquet garni over low heat.
2. Pass the stock in very fine sieve. Add it back to the pan together with the cream and reduce until a creamy consistency (it should coat the spoon). Split the vanilla pod lengthwise, and add it to the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and scrape out the seed into the the warm sauce. Set aside, covered, for 1 hour, to enable vanilla to develop its flavors to the sauce.
3. Gently pan the sea scallops with some olive oil, about 40 seconds on each side.
4. Arrange on a hot plate alternating the sea scallops, vanilla sauce and fresh mangoes. Decorate with fresh mint leaves, and voilà!

Notes

* The number of seared scallops will depend on their size. Usually fresh scallops tend to be twice big as the frozen ones, sometimes even more.

** For crispy edges, pan the seared scallops in a combination of melted butter and olive oil.

Christmas, Gluten-Free, Healthy, Main Dishes, Pescatarian, Quick & Easy, Valentine's Day, Year Round

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