Playdate Special: Vanilla-Seared Scallops with Mango, Cherries and Tomato

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Something about the abundance of cherries at the market triggered a compulsion to pair them with scallops. It was a strange urge, as I'd prepared scallops exactly once before, years ago, and overcooked them horribly.

This time, however, I nailed it: nicely caramelized with a hint of vanilla, paired with spring cherries at their peak and a beautiful mango. It was still missing a little something -- a light sprinkling of sea salt, and a bit of the season's first tomatoes. Perfect. (And another contribution to the anniversary party over at Mango & Tomato!)

It's an appealing presentation for kids who may be unsure of scallops. Two of the four kids liked it, and one more at least tried it. We enjoyed this as an appetizer, but it also makes a great summer entree. The scallops need half an hour in the refrigerator before cooking, but total time on the stove is just a few minutes.

Vanilla-Seared Scallops with Mango, Cherries and Tomato

Topped with fresh fruit, these scallops are a lovely light summer meal. This recipe serves 4 as an entree, or 8 as an appetizer. If you've made compound butter with vanilla, you could substitute that for the separate butter and vanilla here.

1 pound large sea scallops
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 vanilla bean (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
1 mango, stoned and chopped
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
1 yellow or orange tomato, chopped
freshly ground pepper
sea salt

Rinse scallops and pat dry. Set on several layers of paper towels and put in refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes to allow scallops to dry.

Combine mango, cherries and tomato in a bowl; set aside.

When ready to cook, spray a non-stick pan with olive oil, set it over medium-high heat, and add butter. Split vanilla bean lengthwise with a paring knife and scrape vanilla seeds into the pan (or add extract, if using). Season scallops with salt and pepper and set in a single layer in the pan (you might need to cook this in two batches if your pan is small).

Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until bottom of each scallop is nicely browned and releases easily from the pan. Turn scallops over and cook another two to three minutes. Arrange cooked scallops on a platter and top with fruit mixture and remaining butter from pan. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and serve immediately.

Second Helping: Lavender Lemonade

Growing up in the Northeast, I was smitten on road trips south by the idea of oranges or lemons growing in your own yard. Years later, I'm living the dream, with a small but thriving lemon tree that keeps us well-supplied ... through winter. It's wonderful to cut into a freshly picked lemon on Christmas Day, but come summer, when I want to make lemonade by the bucket and plunk perfect yellow citrus slices into pitchers of water and iced tea, my little tree is stubbornly setting out flowers for fall fruit.

So in late winter I collect quarts of lemon juice, portioned out and frozen to see me through my summer lemonade needs. Happily, once summer hits there's a flush of fresh lavender flowers and other herbs to infuse the lemonade.

Basil and mint are great alternatives to the lavender in this syrup, and probably easier to obtain. The syrup stores well in the refrigerator, without the lemon juice, and freezes for months.

Lavender Lemonade

Try adding a splash of the lavender syrup to iced tea or frozen drinks, or use it in baking or sorbet. Be sure to use pesticide-free lavender. Grow your own, clip it from a trusted friend's plant, or find it at Whole Foods or the farmer's market. Alternatively, you can substitute basil, mint, or other herbs. This makes a lightly sweet lemonade, which suits my taste; you may want to adjust the amount of sugar.

1/3 cup culinary lavender flowers
1 cup sugar
6 cups water, divided
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)

In a small saucepan, combine lavender, sugar, and 2 cups water over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat. Let steep 45 minutes, then strain to remove herbs.

Pour syrup into pitcher and stir in lemon juice and remaining water. Taste, and add more lemon juice (to cut sweetness) or water (to dilute) to suit your preference. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired, and serve.

Tips and Gadgets: Tomato and Mango Celebration, a Coulis for Shrimps

If you, like us, like to experiment, here's an inspiration: The author of Mango and Tomato is celebrating the second anniversary of her blog with a contest, looking for new recipes than include her favorite ingredients.

Of course, those are mangoes and tomatoes.

So this recipe is to take a chance of creating something daring and help her celebrate her adventures in the kitchen.

While our very young explorers didn't yet have yet the chance to try that, my oldest son had a look on the pictures and said: "I want to eat those." We tasted this little amusing hors d'óeuvre  on Tuesday night and found it charming, and she suggested to add more sweetness to it, so instead of honey, I added a bit more sugar.  We bet that the most adventurous kids will give it try, while the cautious ones will be at least curious. In the meantime, something refreshing and colorful from our table to yours:

Wrapped Shrimp with Mango and Tomato Coulis

As always, it's a good idea to consult the Monterey Bay Aquarium guide to buy the best option of shrimps available. Here I am thinking of a portion of four shrimps per guest as an appetizer, with enough sauce to amuse them.

Grilled shrimps:
16 shrimps, de-veined, cleaned, tail on
Olive oil
16 pieces of apple-smoked bacon (or turkey bacon) strips, long enough to cover the shrimp circumference

Coulis:
1 cup peeled, chopped fresh tomato (go for the sweet types), no seeds
1 cup chopped fresh flesh of mango (used a pink Mexican fruit)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cachaça (Brazilian sugar cane liquor)  or cognac (optional), a non-alcoholic option would be some drops of fresh lime juice
Little salt to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
Freshly cut chives to garnish

Stir-fry shrimps in a mist of olive oil over medium heat on a shallow skillet. When flesh turns pink, remove shell but leave the tail,  and wrap each shrimp with the bacon strip. The bacon will close itself with the heat, creating a ring around the shrimp. When bacon is crispy and shrimp all cooked, it is all ready to go.

For the coulis, start blending both fruits together and gradually add garlic, salt and sugar. At the end use the liquor or some drops of lime juice until all is smooth and integrated.  On the first test of this recipe, I simmered the sauce to make sure all the flavors were there. But on the second I just used it fresh and loved it. You can also strain everything to make sure you are honoring the name "coulis". Some mango fibers will need that help!

Serve shrimps with the sauce. An option is to serve it as a traditional prawn cocktail.