~June Cooking With Washington Wines~

Anne, the tasting room manager at Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, is often experimenting with new recipes. Either working with recipes for food and wine pairings or cooking with wine to enhance the flavors in a recipe. Anne's recipe, Seared Scallops with Mango Salsa, when paired with Forgeron Cellars Columbia Valley Chardonnay, you will find the freshness of this dish shows off the fruit forward character of this bright and tangy wine. Now is the time to prepare this recipe while the Walla Walla Sweet Onions are available.

Seared Scallops with Mango Salsa

1 cup diced mango

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup Walla Walla Sweet Onion

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro

4 tsp fresh lime juice

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

16 sea scallops, about 1 lb. total

In a bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Toss well to make salsa. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Coat the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add half to the pan and sear, turning once until golden brown on both sides and opaque throughout, about two minutes on each side. Transfer the scallops to a warmed plate. Continue to cook the remaining scallops. Divide scallops among individual warmed plates. Spoon the mango salsa over the scallop tops, dividing equally.

Enjoy with Forgeron Cellars Chardonnay.