I had this scallop dish for dinner at my friends’ (Gary and Jeff) home the other evening. It’s a recipe they adapted from Cooking Light Magazine so it was not only healthy BUT it was also surprisingly delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I asked Chef Jeff to share the recipe here on our website. Thank you Jeff!
(4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 pounds jumbo sea scallops (can use fresh or thawed frozen)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 10 ounce fresh baby spinach* (I used 15 oz)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Directions:
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cool slightly.
2. While paprika mixture cooks, heat a large skillet (we used the Le Creuset Oval French Oven to accommodate the extra spinach) over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. (Make sure you don’t overcook scallops as they can get “rubbery”) Remove from pan; keep warm.
3. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add half of spinach; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add remaining spinach; cook 2 minutes* or until wilted (*you can probably reduce cooking time so as not to overcook the spinach). Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt.
4. Divide the spinach mixture evenly among each of 4 plates, and divide scallops evenly among servings. Drizzle paprika mixture evenly over scallops; sprinkle 1 tablespoon pine nuts over each serving.
Enjoy!
Trying this tomorrow night! Thanks for the wonderful recipes!