Brighten Your Next Holiday Party with Some Tropical Sunshine!
In this season of giving, it’s important to put thought into what you want to share with friends and family, and this extends to what you bring to your table. Sure, there are times when time isn’t on your side and turning a quick appetizer is what makes sense. Other times, and quite honestly it’s a foodie personality trait, we want to serve up a show-stopper both visually and in taste. If you’re looking for a memorable app for your next holiday gathering, these lollies are sure to make a big impression.
In our second installment of Bob Blumer’s seven-part ‘Pescatarian Holiday’ series with Lloyd Cellars, we present his Coconut-Crusted Scallop Lollies recipe. At first glance, it may seem a bit daunting. However, as Bob notes in the recipe below, “Mastering this recipe is like learning how to line dance. If you attempt all of the steps together, it can be intimidating the first time around. But if you tackle each of the four individual steps of this recipe one at a time, they are a cinch to master.”
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Coconut-Crusted Scallop Lollies
Equipment
- Deep Fryer or Deep Pot to Fry In
Ingredients
Apricot-Ginger Dipping Sauce Ingredients
- ¾ cup of apricot jam
- ½ jalapeño pepper seeds discarded, minced
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Note: Place all dipping sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Purée. Reserve.
Coconut-Crusted Scallop Lollies Ingredients
- 1 coconut first timers should buy a spare coconut—or see shortcuts at the end of the recipe
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 medium-size scallops 20/30—which refers to the number of scallops in a pound
- 3-5 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 navel orange for presentation
- 12 6- inch bamboo skewers
Instructions
- With the coconut and a medium-size bowl in hand, go find yourself a concrete step. Break the coconut in half by banging the center along the equator of the coconut repeatedly on the edge of the step. Split the coconut over the bowl and salvage as much of the coconut water as possible. Reserve the smaller half of the coconut. Bang the larger half on the concrete to break it into smaller pieces.
- Back in your kitchen, use a table knife to separate the coconut meat from the shell. Then use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the brown skin from the meat. Using the fine-to-medium section of your grater, shred 2 cups of coconut. Reserve in a shallow bowl.
- Pour coconut water into a measuring cup and if necessary, top off with beer or sparkling water until you have 3/4 cup of liquid. Reserve. If you are using store-bought shredded coconut (and consequently do not have any coconut water), replace mixture with 3/4 cup of beer or sparkling water.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, coconut water/beer mixture, egg, cayenne, baking powder, and salt. Beat until it is smooth. Add a bit more flour or beer, if necessary, so that the batter has the consistency of thick pancake batter. Reserve.
- Use a paper towel to pat dry the scallops. In a medium bowl, toss scallops with the remaining ¼ cup of flour, then shake off excess flour. Then skewer one scallop on the end of each bamboo skewer (do this gently so as not to tear scallops with the skewers). Reserve.
- Pour oil into a small, tall pot until it is 3 inches deep. Heat oil until it reaches 350°F.
- While oil is heating, dip and roll each scallop in the batter, then pat it down in the coconut shreds so that the entire “lollie” is covered in coconut shreds. Transfer to a plate.
- When oil is ready, submerge 4 scallops at a time into the oil. (Don’t worry if the skewers go into the oil). Fry for approximately 2 – 3 minutes, or until coconut is golden brown. Rotate once or twice as they fry. Transfer finished lollies to a paper towel.
- Skim any wayward coconut shreds from the oil. Adjust heat, wait until oil returns to 350°F, and continue with next batch.
- Cut the bottom off the orange and skewer with lollies. Serve the dipping sauce in the reserved coconut half. (Use a napkin ring, an onion slice, or a small ramekin to support the coconut shell).