Scallop Crudo with Pixies and Pickled Strawberries #SundayFunday

Are you seeing strawberries in your markets yet? We are and since it's National Strawberry Month, I asked the Sunday Funday bloggers to join me in sharing some strawberry inspiration.

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Rebekah of Making Miracles, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, and I coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. This week, here is the line-up of the recipes from the group...

• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake by Amy's Cooking Adventures

• Easy No Bake Strawberry Ice Box Cheesecake by Our Good Life

• Homemade Strawberry Balsamic Sauce by Sneha's Recipe

• Scallop Crudo with Pixies and Pickled Strawberries by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Strawberry and Tomato Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Strawberry Yogurt Sherbet by Mayuri's Jikoni

Scallop Crudo with Pixies and Pickled Strawberries

Crudo means 'raw' in Italian. And, like any recipe that involves serving a protein raw, make sure you are using the freshest, highest quality ingredients. You can ask your trusted fish monger if the seafood is 'sushi-grade' or 'sashimi-grade.' Crudo is usually dressed with nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of citrus, and salt and pepper.

You can see another crudo that I made with halibut and shared in The Feast of Twelve Fishes: La Vigilia di Natale v.2023. But for this post, I wanted to feature some of the fresh Ojai Pixie mandarins I had recently gotten from a high school friend and the luscious strawberries I found at the Serendipity Farms stand. So my scallop pieces are on a bed of quick pickled strawberries and onions.

You can use any good quality olive oil that you have. But if you want to mirror the flavors in your dish, pick a good quality co-milled oil.

Ingredients

Quick-Pickled Strawberries

• 2/3 cup diced strawberries

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions

• 3/4 cup vinegar (I used a Strawberry Prickly Pear vinegar from The Quail & Olive)

Crudo

• sushi-grade scallops

• olive oil (I used the Picual Olive Oil from The Quail & Olive)

• salt

• pepper

• freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Serving

• mandarins, peeled and sliced

• capers

• herbs (I used dill)

• edible petals, optional

• olive oil (I used the Picual Olive Oil from The Quail & Olive)

Procedure

Quick-Pickled Strawberries

Place vinegar and onions in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a minute. The onions should soften. Remove from heat and stir in strawberries. Let marinated for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.

Crudo

Pat the scallops dry and slice into 1/4-inch coins. Place on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and freshly squeezed mandarin juice. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.

Serving

Spoon the quick-pickled strawberries and onions in the bottom of a serving bowl. Arrange the scallops on top of the strawberries. I clustered the coins together to resemble flowers. Capers formed the "stamens" of the scallop flowers. Garnish with mandarin slices and scatter with edible petals, if using. Sprinkle with more black pepper and another drizzle of olive oil.

That's a wrap on my strawberry offering for #SundayFunday. Next week we'll be back to share recipes that celebrate National Egg Month. Stay tuned!