Seared Scallops with Avocado-Lime Crema, Roasted Cauliflower, Cabbage-Radish Slaw, and Toasted Pepitas

Golden-seared scallops with a cool, silky avocado-lime crema, cumin-roasted cauliflower, a crisp slaw of shaved cabbage and radish, and toasted pepitas for crunch. Fresh, bright, and full of contrast.

Yield: Serves 2 · Active: 30 min · Total: 40 min · Best in North America from fall through spring, when cauliflower, cabbage, and radishes thrive in cool weather · Best eaten: early evening

Ingredients

Avocado-lime crema

• 1 ripe avocado

• Juice of 1 lime, plus a little zest

• 2 tbsp thick sheep's or goat's milk yogurt (or water, for dairy-free)

• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro

• 1 small garlic clove

• ¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• 2–4 tbsp water, to thin

Roasted cauliflower

• ½ head cauliflower, cut into small florets

• 1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt

Cabbage-radish slaw

• 1½ cups finely shaved green or red cabbage

• 4–5 radishes, thinly sliced

• Juice of ½ lime, 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt

• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Scallops

• 8–10 large dry-packed sea scallops, side muscles removed

• ½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• 1 tbsp ghee

To serve: 2 tbsp toasted pepitas, cilantro, lime wedges

Method

1. Roast the cauliflower. Toss it with the olive oil, cumin, and salt and roast at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, until golden and crisp at the edges.

2. Make the crema. Blend everything until silky, adding water until it's thick but spoonable.

3. Make the slaw. Toss the cabbage, radishes, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and cilantro just before serving.

4. Toast the pepitas in a dry skillet over medium heat until they puff and pop, 3–4 minutes.

5. Sear the scallops. Pat them completely dry and season with salt. Heat the ghee in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, and sear 1½–2 minutes until deeply golden. Flip and cook about 1 minute more.

6. Plate. Swoosh avocado-lime crema across each plate, add the roasted cauliflower and slaw, set the scallops on top, and finish with pepitas, cilantro, and lime.

Storage: Scallops are best right away. Crema keeps 1 day (press plastic or beeswax wrap onto its surface); cauliflower, up to 4 days.

Nourishment Notes

Sea scallops — complete protein, B12, selenium, zinc, and magnesium.

Avocado — monounsaturated fats, potassium, and folate.

Cauliflower — glucosinolates, choline, and vitamin C.

Cabbage and radishes — eaten raw, they keep their glucosinolates and the enzyme that turns them into isothiocyanates as you chew.

Pepitas — zinc, magnesium, and iron.

Sheep's or goat's milk yogurt — live cultures (never heated here) and calcium.

For your cycle: The raw brassicas support estrogen metabolism through Phase 2 liver detoxification, and pepitas' zinc and magnesium are especially welcome in the luteal phase.

Sourcing

• Sea scallops — dry-packed (never treated with STP); Maine diver scallops in season (roughly December through April), or farmed scallops year-round

• Avocado, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, cilantro, garlic, and limes — organic

• Pepitas — organic and raw

• Sheep's or goat's milk yogurt — organic, plain, and full-fat; raw from a local dairy, or Bellwether Farms

• Ghee — grass-fed, or homemade from organic grass-fed butter

• Cumin — organic and non-irradiated

• Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass

• Baja Gold sea salt

— Anna aka Food Marshall