This no-cook dish — crudo means “raw” and capesante means “scallops” — is an Italian cuisine classic. Thinly sliced raw scallops are drizzled with a citrus dressing and olive oil and garnished with jalapeños, pickled cucumbers, avocado purée and agrodolce. Agrodolce is a traditional Italian condiment that translates to “sweet and sour,” explains James Paré, and this bright and fresh dish is an example of “the direction we’re taking the menu since Antonio passed the reins to us.”
Note: The agrodolce, purée, pickled cucumber and dressing yield enough for up to 12 servings, so add more scallops for an impressive party dish or reserve the condiments and garnishes for another use.
Serves 2
Time: 90 minutes
- 4 scallops, raw (Hokkaido or Japanese)
- Pinch sea salt and pepper
- 1 green jalapeño, thinly sliced
- Microgreens or other garnishes (optional)
Citrus dressing
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- ¼ cup olive oil
Pickled cucumber
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
Grapefruit gastrique
- 3 cups grapefruit juice
- 1 cup white balsamic vinegar
Orange agrodolce
- 2 cups orange segment supremes (about 5 large oranges; see cutting instructions below)
- ½ cup lemon segment supremes (about 3 lemons)
- 1½ tablespoons lime segment supremes (1 lime)
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- ¼ cup shallots, finely sliced
- ¼ cup brandy
Avocado purée
- 1 avocado
- Juice of ½ lime
- ⅛ cup water
- Pinch salt
For the citrus dressing, combine lemon, orange and lime juice and zest with olive oil. Mix well and set aside.
To pickle the cucumber, bring rice wine vinegar to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in sugar until dissolved. Let syrup cool. Place the cucumber slices in half the syrup and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the grapefruit gastrique, combine grapefruit juice and white balsamic vinegar in another saucepan. Reduce over medium heat for 45 to 60 minutes, lowering the temperature as it thickens. When you see less bubbling, it’s close to ready. It will stiffen more as it cools.
Meanwhile, for the orange agrodolce, place a strainer over a bowl. Segment the citrus fruit into supremes (cut off the ends and peels and remove the pith and membrane) over the strainer. Reserve any juice in the bowl for another use. Heat ⅛ cup of the olive oil over low heat in a stainless steel pot. Add shallots and soften until translucent. Add all the supremes to the pot and increase heat to medium. Cook gently, stirring, until most of the liquid evaporates and the citrus begins to break down and stick to the pan. Increase the heat again and deglaze with brandy. Stir in the remaining olive oil and cool. Add the cooled gastrique to the agrodolce.
For the avocado purée, cut avocado in half, pit and scoop out the flesh. Use a blender to purée with lime juice, water and salt. Adjust seasoning as needed.
To serve, thinly slice the scallops and arrange on two plates. Drizzle with citrus dressing and season with sea salt and pepper. Using a teaspoon, arrange a few mounds of orange agrodolce around the plate. Add dollops of avocado purée. Garnish with thinly sliced green jalapeño, pickled cucumber, any extra citrus segments and microgreens or other garnishes, if using.