Dressed to impress, this is a delicate plate of scallop sashimi floating in a pool of blush pink ruby grapefruit dressing. Garnished with fennel fronds, finger lime pearls and crunchy tobiko on top, you will love this stunning appetizer.
If you have bought frozen Hokkaido scallops, defrost until soft and ready to use. Pat dry scallops and lay on clean paper towel.Using a sharp knife and on a clean surface, slice each scallop into 3 thin rounds and place them in rows on a plate. If you have smaller scallops, slice into 2 rounds. Cover sliced scallops with cling wrap and return to fridge.
Cut finger limes in half and squeeze vesicles out from the fruit into a small bowl.
Scoop tobiko into a small bowl ready for assembly.
Salad Dressing
Remove peel from ruby grapefruit.Carefully cut along the membranes and slice the ruby grapefruit segments out. Place segments into a mixing bowl.Give the pith a final squeeze over the mixing bowl to catch any juices remaining. Discard the pith.
Finely chop fennel fronds to yield 2 tablespoons. Add to mixing bowl.
Add fennel fronds, olive oil, lime juice and a good pinch of salt to ruby grapefruit mixture.
Stir dressing together and at the same time, break up the ruby grapefruit segments with a fork.
Keep stirring until well combined and all segments have been broken up.
Taste and season with salt if required.
Assembly
Using a large round platter with a raised edge, scoop the ruby grapefruit dressing and fill the plate.
Lay scallop sashimi on top of the ruby grapefruit dressing. Leave a little gap between each slice
Scatter finger lime vesicles over the top of the scallops.
Repeat with tobiko.
Pick fennel fronds and scatter in between and on top on scallops.
Serve immediately.
Notes
If you don’t want to serve raw scallops, you can serve this salad with seared scallops. It works perfectly well.
Finger limes are not really an ingredient that can be replaced. If you can’t find it, I would omit it completely. The finger lime vesicles do add a lovely touch but the recipe will work without as well.
If you are not planning to use fennel in the same week, substitute fennel fronds for dill. Roughly chop 1 tablespoon of dill and add to dressing. Pick a few longer strands of dill and add to salad when plating.
You can prepare everything ahead of time but plate when ready to serve.
Always check with fishmonger how long you can keep scallops in order to eat raw.