jicama, avocado and grapefruit salad

I guess the name of this salad says it all. Jicama suddenly appeared in my local supermarket. I snapped it up, looking forward to enjoying it's crunchy, juicy sweetness. Jicama doesn't have much flavor; the crunch is the draw. Combining it with a luscious ripe avocado and pink grapefruit slices brought out the best in all the ingredients. I used a mustardy vinaigrette for the dressing. The flavors and textures were wonderful. Try this simple, refreshing salad.

Masala Scallops

A few weeks ago Deb bought a bunch of Indian spices and generously shared some with me. That garam masala sitting in my cupboard was on my mind and I decided to use it with the scallops I bought this afternoon. I got an idea from a Bon Appetit recipe (9/01) for shrimp, simplified it and substituted scallops. Here is what I made for dinner tonight along with basmati rice and zucchini sauteed with ginger. The meal was delicious.

Masala Sauce

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 heaping tsps. garam masala

2 tsps. curry powder

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice

1/2 cup yogurt

salt and pepper, to taste

Scallops

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 lb. sea scallops

6 1/2 oz. unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbl. fresh lemon juice

Masala Sauce-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute til golden, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and all spices and stir for 1 minute. Cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix tomatoes and juice with yogurt in a medium bowl. When onion mixture is cooled, add it to the tomatoes and yogurt and incorporate all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Scallops- Wipe out skillet with a paper towel and heat oil in skillet. Over medium high heat, add scallops and saute for about 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, cilantro, lemon juice and masala sauce. Simmer until scallops are cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Notes: The masala sauce can be made a day in advance. The recipe can easily be doubled.

Instead of buying canned coconut milk I heat the same amount of milk and add dried, shredded coconut. After it simmers for a few minutes, I allow it to cool and then strain out the coconut, pressing on the coconut to release all the milk. I use the warm coconutty milk in the recipe.