Whole30 Day Twenty Four: This Is Really Winter

Sydney has been hit by a polar blast. I’m sure that the vortex is my apartment. It is freezing today. I curse my floor to ceiling windows. Not only do they let the cold in, but my neighbours can see me shuffling around in my bright pink Nordic onesie (which is so 3 years ago!).

Breakfast: Smoked Salmon Omelette

I picked up a couple of packets of my favourite smoked salmon at the fish markets yesterday, which I folded into an omelette, and topped with some lemon zest. 

Lunch: Chicken Broth and Boiled Eggs with Mayonnaise

I would have loved a soup today, but a rummage around the freezer confirmed that all my soups contain dairy which is illegal under Whole30 rules. Luckily I found some chicken stock, so I reduced it in a pot to make it even more flavoursome. It certainly helped fend off potential hypothermia. 

Dinner: Mayonnaise Scallop “Mornay” and Lemon Pepper Sugar Snap Peas

Scallops were on special at the fish markets, so I picked up half a dozen to bring home to make into a Mornay style dish. I created this by spooning a coriander infused mayonnaise over scallops and baking them in the half shell. 

The scallops were paired with lightly steamed sugar snap peas with lemon juice, lemon zest and freshly cracked black pepper.

Recipe: Mayonnaise Scallop “Mornay”‘

Recipe: Mayonnaise Scallop “Mornay”

The must-have dish at my local Japanese Restaurant, Yokozuma on Oxford Street, is the scallops grilled in mayonnaise. It is reminiscent of a Mornay but oh so much better! The Japanese rival the Dutch for the world’s best mayonnaise, but they win hands down for seafood. This dish is a showcase of two of the best things in Japanese cuisine.

I decided a while back to recreate this at home, and I have since used Emeril Lagasse’s spicy Hot Mayonnaise Glazed Scallops quite a few times. I have cut down on the hot sauce however, because as great as the mayo is, it really did detract from the sweetness of the scallops – I might as well have had it on chicken, or for that matter just had a spoonful of the mayonnaise! Wasting scallops may not be a felony crime, but I do consider it to be a misdemeanour at least.

I’m currently finishing a Whole30 experiment and have not been able to find any compliant hot sauce. Thus I decided to go back to the drawing board. After much consideration (and an assessment of what I had lurking in the fridge as it was rather wet outside), I decided that I would quite like to add some texture to the mayonnaise, so I added some very finely diced celery. To add extra but complimentary flavour I used my favourite herb – coriander.

Using this method of grilling scallops in mayonnaise, I believe you could certainly play around with a lot of different flavour combinations. I’m tempted to try grilling some lobster this way too, once the budget allows.

Ingredients

(serves one)

• 60 mls of mayonnaise
• 1 Tbs (20 mls) of finely diced celery
• 1 Tbs (20mls) of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• Black pepper to season
• Lemon juice (optional)*
• 6 scallops loose in shell**
• 1 spring onion finely sliced

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C.

2. Combine all ingredients except for the scallops in a bowl.

3. Spread scallop shells evenly across a baking sheet.

4. Spoon approximately 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise onto each scallop to cover.

  

5. Bake for 10 minutes at the top of the oven or until mayonnaise is a luminescent golden brown.

6. Sprinkle spring onions over the cooked scallops and serve.

Tips:

• *Additional lemon is only required if your mayonnaise does not already use lemon
• **You may use scallops with roe on however you should increase the mayonnaise mix by 50%
• If entertaining for guests, double the amount of mayonnaise used for an even more luxurious experience
• Serve with Lemon Pepper Sugar Snaps