Dijon-dill salmon with crushed potatoes
Roasted salmon, crushed new potatoes and a cool dill sauce.
About 35 min · 495 kcal · 37 g protein per serving
Scallops with cauliflower purée and couscous
Golden scallops with a smooth cauliflower purée and herb couscous.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the searing time for scallops of this size
- Photograph the finished plate
- Time
- About 35 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 345 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 26 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk, molluscs. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- scallops. Some scallops are treated with phosphates and hold added water; untreated ones brown better.
Cooking steps
Steam the cauliflower for 10 to 12 minutes, until completely soft, then blend it with the milk until smooth.
Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave for 5 minutes. Fork it through with the parsley.
Pat the scallops dry again just before cooking. Warm the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
Cook the scallops for 2 minutes on one side without moving them, then turn and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, until opaque and firm right through.
Cooked when: opaque and firm right through, with no glassy flesh left.
Spoon the purée onto two plates, add the couscous and set the scallops on top.
The useful detail
Dry scallops thoroughly before cooking for better browning. A wet scallop steams in its own liquid and stays grey however hot the pan is.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the scallops with purée and couscous. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Prawns instead of scallops
Cheaper and more forgiving; cook them for 3 to 4 minutes.
Per serving: about 20 kcal more, about 11 g more protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Crustaceans rather than molluscs.
Rice instead of couscous
Cook it separately in boiling water.
Per serving: about 5 kcal less, about 2 g less protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Removes gluten.
Unsweetened soya milk in the purée
Blends just as smooth.
Per serving: about 5 kcal less, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Adds soya; removes milk.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A restaurant-style plate at home. Scallops are very lean, and sugars are not calculated because the dry couscous record does not include them.
| Energy | 345 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 26 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| of which saturates | 2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 45 g |
| of which sugars | not calculated |
| Fibre | 5 g |
| Sodium | 620 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cauliflower | 300 g | FDC 169986Cauliflower, raw | 75 kcal | 5.8 g |
| milk | 83 g | FDC 171267Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin A and vitamin D | 41 kcal | 2.7 g |
| couscous | 80 g | FDC 169699Couscous, dryFoodData Central's record for dry couscous has no sugars value, so sugars are left uncalculated for this recipe rather than guessed. | 301 kcal | 10.2 g |
| boiling water | 120 g | No energy | 0 kcal | 0.0 g |
| olive oil | 9 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 80 kcal | 0.0 g |
| scallops | 280 g | FDC 174220Mollusks, scallop, mixed species, raw | 193 kcal | 33.8 g |
| parsley | 5 g | FDC 170416Parsley, fresh | 2 kcal | 0.1 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 692 kcal | 52.6 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. of which sugars could not be calculated, because one ingredient’s record does not cover it; the row above says which. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. Scallops are much the worse for reheating; eat them the day they are cooked.
- In the freezer
- The FDA chart gives cooked fish 4 to 6 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Cod en papillote with fennel
Cod steamed in parchment with fennel and saffron potatoes.
About 40 min · 300 kcal · 29 g protein per serving