Recipe for scallop taco from Bruket Bord & Bar on Myken
In the cookbook “ØYA Myken Maten Menneskene”, Kerstin Marthinsen and Julie Luneborg write about life on a small island far out at sea. They’ve collected recipes from both neighbours and chefs on Myken. This one comes from chef Axel Jamtli at the restaurant Bruket Bord & Bar.
Julie Luneborg
Axel Jamtli grew up in a large, generous, and food-loving family in Jamtlia, just outside Mo i Rana. In the summer of 2020, he was a guest chef at Bruket Bord & Bar on Myken, where he served dishes straight from the sea. Axel would rush to the pier whenever a fishing boat entered the strait. He loved to serve his signature dishes—and scallop taco is one of them. It’s one of those tacos you could easily get hooked on. And if Axel can pair it with a chilled white Burgundy, he’s more than happy.
Today, Axel has stepped away from professional cooking, but he still pops up as a guest chef in some of the region’s most respected kitchens.
Scallop Tacos
The recipe serves 4
Julie Luneborg
Ingredients
4 large scallops
4 gyoza wrappers – available frozen at Asian grocery stores
3 dl neutral oil
½ fresh pineapple
Lime wedges
Fresh coriander
Sea salt
Avocado Cream
1 avocado
2 tsp olive oil
1 pinch of salt
Juice of ½ lime
Salsa
1 garlic clove
½ green chili
1 shallot
2 large tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
Chili Mayo
1 egg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Juice of ½ lime
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 dl neutral oil
1 tbsp gochujang
Preparation
Make one taco per person as a starter. If serving as a main, plan for two per person—or three for the very hungry. The dish has several components, so prepping some parts in advance is helpful. The gyoza shells and salsa can be made the day before.
Peel the pineapple and remove the core. Cut into wedges and sear in a hot pan until slightly charred and tasting of caramelised sugar. Dice into small cubes.
Heat the oil for frying the taco shells in a heavy-bottomed pot to about 180°C (or until it sizzles around a wooden skewer). Thaw the gyoza wrappers, and using tongs, carefully fry them one at a time until golden, turning them halfway through. Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
For the avocado cream, blend the avocado flesh with olive oil, lime juice, and salt until completely smooth. Store in a plastic bag sealed tightly to prevent browning.
Julie Luneborg
To make the salsa, heat garlic, chili, shallot, chopped tomatoes, and olive oil in a pot over fairly high heat while stirring. Blend until you get a thick, smooth sauce. A stick blender also works well. Store in a tightly sealed plastic bag.
Make sure all mayo ingredients are at room temperature—that makes it easier to emulsify. Blend everything except the chili paste in a tall container using a stick blender. Pour in the oil slowly in a thin stream until the mayo thickens. Stir in the gochujang at the end.
Take the fried gyoza shells and spread with avocado cream. Slice the scallops thinly and lay them neatly on top. Sprinkle with pineapple cubes. Cut a small hole in the plastic bags with chili mayo and salsa, and dot both around the taco. Squeeze over some lime juice and finish with a pinch of sea salt and plenty of coriander leaves.
Serve with a lime wedge on the side.
The book «ØYA Myken Maten Menneskene»
Julie Luneborg
Myken is a very special island. Just 13 people live there, far out at sea on the Helgeland coast—32 kilometres from the nearest neighbour on the mainland.
Now, authors Kerstin Marthinsen and Julie Luneborg have written “ØYA Myken Maten Menneskene”, a cookbook about life on a small island out at sea—meant to inspire joy in cooking and help build community in small coastal settlements.
You can find the cookbook at Mykenisland.com
