Tropical Mango Salsa Scallops and a Terrible Picture

I'm just going to lead with the fact that this is one ugly picture.

Apologies.

I went back and forth and back and forth trying to decide whether I should post it, but in the end the fact that this is one *incredible* recipe won out and I decided to share it with you and trust that sometimes when there are amazing scallops to be eaten a girl just doesn't want to take the time to deal with lighting and such at the end of the day.

Priorities,  you know?

I love scallops SO much.  Sea scallops, specifically.

They're one of my favorite foods in the entire world and if they weren't prohibitively expensive to eat regularly I'd eat them pretty much all the time.

The other day I needed a scallop fix and I decided to go with something fruity.

I LOVE fruity salsas (remember that Pineapple Salsa I made over the summer?) and these Mango Salsa Scallops sounded right up my culinary alley.  I was definitely right.

I've made mango salsa before for the Turkey-Chorizo Sliders with Pineapple-Mango Salsa and absolutely loved it.  Obviously this recipe isn't quite the same, but the sauces had fairly similar flavor profiles.  If you don't feel like going to the (very small amount) of trouble of making the salsa from scratch you could definitely buy store-bought- I know my grocery store sells mango salsa in the produce department.

Besides their rich, luscious, slightly sweet, heavenly flavor, one of my favorite things about scallops is just how simple they are to cook.  Just make sure that you pat them dry to get a nice sear in the pan and cook them for 1-2 minutes per side with a little seasoning.

That's it.  

Dinner in less than 5 minutes!

When I first found this recipe I honestly didn't read it very carefully and didn't notice that it was served on a bed of thinly sliced fried potatoes.  I was a little leery, but at the same time it felt somewhat South American so I decided to give it a chance and I'm really glad I did.  This was simply a phenomenal, flavor-packed dish!

Tropical Mango Salsa Scallops

Modified slightly from Allrecipes.com

2 potatoes, thinly sliced

Vegetable oil for frying

1 pinch sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 mango - peeled, seeded, and diced

1 Spanish onion, minced

2 fresh chives, minced

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 limes, juiced

1 Tbsp olive oil

12 sea scallops, patted dry

Salt and pepper

1. Arrange the potato slices on a large plate. Cook in microwave on High until tender about 3 minutes.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook in the hot oil until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Season with salt.

3. Stir the mango, onion, chives, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, garlic, and lime juice together in a bowl.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add scallops to pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook the scallops in the hot oil until lightly browned on the bottom, 1-2 minutes. Turn and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.  Do not overcook.

5. Remove scallops and place each individual scallop on top of a potato chip as a base, then smother liberally with the salsa.