Mexican aguachile scallops

Chef Pablo Galindo, from Rojo Rocket restaurant in NSW, shows us how to prepare authentic Mexican aguachile scallops – a dish traditionally prepared by fisherman right on the shore using their freshest seafood. The shellfish in this recipe are marinated in a citrus dressing until slightly cured, and then combined with a fiery pico de gallo sauce and served with crisp, crunchy tortillas.

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• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 scallops, thinly sliced
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 4 green hot chillies, sliced
• ½ bunch coriander, plus extra to garnish
• 4 corn tortillas, cut into triangles
• oil, for frying

Pico de gallo salsa

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 mango, peeled, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped, skin on
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, chopped

Instructions

Place the scallops in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and season with of a handful of salt. Mix well. Add half the chilli. Set aside for 10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the liquid for the sauce.

 

To prepare a green sauce, place the coriander, ¼ of the cucumber, and the remaining chilli. Add a dash of water and the reserved scallop liquid.

To prepare the pico de gallo salsa, in a bowl, combine the olive oil, mango, the remaining cucumber, onion and capsicum, and green sauce.

 

In a martini glass, arrange the scallop slices to cover the sides. Fill with pico de gallo salsa and garnish with coriander leaves.

Heat oil in a frypan over high heat. Fry corn tortillas until crisp. Enjoy with the scallops.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.