Grilled Sea Scallops With Yellow Beets, Cucumbers and Lime

By David Tanis

Total Time: About 1½ hours
Rating: 5(386)
Notes: Read community notes

Here’s a simple bright dish that’s nearly effortless to put together. You make a sort of salad-like relish with onion, cucumber and golden beet, seasoned with ginger and lime juice. Once the scallops are grilled, you spoon the relish over and drizzle with fruity olive oil, along with a shower of chopped sweet herbs. Done and done. If sea scallops are not available, use wild shrimp or halibut or salmon fillets. It is best to cook and cool the beets in advance (even a day ahead).

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

3medium yellow beets
1½pounds large dry-packed sea scallops (about 18 scallops)
Salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1cup finely diced red onion
4tablespoons lime juice, plus more for finishing
1teaspoon grated ginger
2medium cucumbers, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes
2tablespoons roughly chopped dill
2tablespoons roughly chopped mint
2tablespoons finely cut chives

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place beets in a baking dish with an inch of water. Tightly cover baking dish and roast for 1 hour or so, until beets are soft enough to yield to a fork and skins easily rub off. Peel beets, let them cool, then dice into ½-inch cubes. Alternatively, peel and dice raw beets, then simmer in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. (Beets may be cooked up to a day in advance.)
Step 2
Put scallops on a baking sheet, pat dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle or paint very lightly with olive oil, just to coat the surface. Leave at room temperature for 15 minutes to absorb seasoning. (Or refrigerate up to 6 hours in advance; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)
Step 3
Put onions, ginger and lime juice in a mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt. Let macerate for 10 minutes or so, then add beets and cucumber to bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat well with juices. Leave to marinate, tossing occasionally, for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
Step 4
Prepare a bed of medium-hot coals for grilling or heat a stovetop grill pan. Lay the scallops on the grill and let them crisp gradually, for 5 minutes or so. Don’t try to turn them until they are well browned or they’ll stick. Flip and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, until cooked through, but juicy.
Step 5
Transfer scallops to a serving dish in one layer. Spoon beets and cucumbers over the scallops and sprinkle with dill, mint and chives. Squeeze a little more lime juice over everything and drizzle with good fruity olive oil.

Ratings

5 out of 5

386 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

LizMN6 years ago

Unless they are ginormous, cooking scallops for 8 minutes will result in rubber hockey pucks. I grill for 2 minutes a side tops.

David Tanis6 years ago

You can use a ridged stove-top grill or a cast iron pan. In either case, make sure to brown the scallops well on the top side.

Virginia6 years ago

To achieve a good sear, try omitting the salt and dusting with a little sugar instead. This creates a carmelized effect, but the sugar burns off, so there is no sweetness.

Happy Eyeball6 years ago

We loved it! Used a stovetop grill surface, scallops spent most of the time on one side for a good char. Prepared the beets in a stovetop water pot - they took 45-50 minutes with a low boil before they make the right textural contribution. Also mixed them in while still warm. Thanks David!

Tracie4 months ago

I love the salad, and I agree that it tastes better the second day. The one thing I would say, though, is that the yellow beets we found turned out to not be very sweet, and when I added just the slightest hint of sugar, it brought out the flavor a lot more.

London1 year ago

This dish was nice and refreshing, but a bit bland. It could have benefited from a seeded, diced Serrano pepper and some crumbled feta.

Bayleef2 years ago

Wow, was this delish. I did the lazy version with the pre-cooked steamed red beets in a package which cut down the prep time significantly. Not the color pop but the combination of the veggies and herbs was summer in every bite. Be sure to serve when the scallops come right off the grill so they are still warm.

Gigi3 years ago

So delish! Make sure to give a good amount of time for maceration to get a sufficient amount of liquid.

MG3 years ago

Delicious, spectacular and easy. I followed the recipe with 2 changes: - I chopped a raw fennel and added it to the cucumber and beet seasoned mixture and replaced mint with tarragon. The result was a stunning lunch entrée salad that followed the pesto and tomato tart with served with an arugula and pistachio salad. Our guests enjoyed this early fall lunch as much as we did.

jordan3 years ago

Some jalapeño added to the “relish” really sets it off with a bright spicy note

PJS4 years ago

At the risk of being a downer, we didn't care for it. The flavors overpowered the scallops in our opinion.

Equilibrist4 years ago

Next time try: seared squid with fish sauce, the rest the same

Kim in MN5 years ago

We cooked the scallops on the grill. I foil roasted the beets. I'm not sure how I feel about the dill in the recipe and may leave it off next time. I think the dill with the ginger wasn't the best pairing but the other herbs worked well.

roundlake5 years ago

I tripled the ginger and it could have used more. Everyone loved it! Will definitely make again.

FH Cyclist5 years ago

There is so much good about this recipe but....... I added a lot more l8me juice and salt and pepper than the recipe called for. The relish was good but the scallops didn’t do much. I would sauté the scallops, as many peopled mentioned, with the oil oil and butter, in other NYT recipes.

momo5 years ago

I like the recipe, but the beets were overcooked roast them cut in half at 400° with olive oil salt and pepper for 20-25 min. they should be slightly caramelized, but still having shape and texture. then put your hands in plastic bags to quickly slip off the skins and not stain your skin. I used unpeeled English cucumbers because they have more flavor. Take scallops straight from fridge, add salt and pepper 1 tsp good balsamic, leave for more like 30 minutes. 2x Ginger. Red onion is great.

TresorH5 years ago

I liked the recipe but I expected more... a bit too much lime for my taste

Jean Glaser5 years ago

This recipe is so nice and summery the beets are very fruity! Loved all the fresh flavors from the herbs!

Toaster Cat5 years ago

I don't have a grill or grill pan, so I used Sam Sifton's recipe for seared scallops and then paired it with the rest of this recipe. Also used a mix of golden beets and candy cane beets and that added extra color to the dish. It's was easy and delicious and really gorgeous on the plate!

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