Pan Seared Scallops With Maradol Papaya Salsa

I’ve been seeing a lot of Maradol Payayas in the store lately, and I’m happy about that because this fruit, which bears very little resemblence to Hawaiian papayas, is delicous! A quick salad of pan-seared scallops and a fat-free salsa with the Maradol is a great way to enjoy this fruit as a meal. The rich sweet papaya salsa with a subtle bite and crisp vegetables is enhanced by fresh lime juice and complemented by the simply done scallops. Great for lunch, a first course or a dinner. Very nutritious, healthy and an all around feel good meal. 

 

 

Maradol Papaya Salsa Recipe:

 

•  1 cup diced Maradol papaya
• 1 cup diced sweet bell peppers
• 1 shallot, diced or 1/2 small onion diced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1 small jalapeno, deseeded, minced
• 1/2  lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper

 

 

 

Maradol papayas are gorgeous! Their taste is rather like a sweeter, richer mango – but unique to itself. Terrific as is for a snack, they also make a great ingredient. Just cut in half, scoop out and discard the seeds  and you are all set. To dice, slide your knife slowly just above the skin to remove, then cut into smaller pieces.

Combine with your diced sweet peppers – I used what I had on hand, any combination will do.  Add all the other  ingredients, stir,  season to taste and set aside while you cook the scallops.

 

 

Pat the scallops dry (however many you’d like), and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy frying pan to high, add a pat of buttter, a teaspoon or so of oil and set your dry scallops in the pan.  Do not crowd the pan or the scallops will do more steaming than searing.

After just a couple of minutes, turn the scallops and continue to cook for a couple of more minutes. The trick here is to not overcook – they should be just firm and lightly seared.  

When done, squirt the juice of the remaining 1/2 of lime used for the salsa.

 

 

Serve on a bed of your favorite greens. I dressed mine very simply with some more lime juice, salt and pepper. I wanted to keep this dish very low-fat, and found that the flavor from the salsa and scallops was plenty, and no heavy dressing on the greens was needed at all!