This morning I knew I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and stuff my face with lots of veggies considering how unhealthy my weekend was. (Oops) I walked over to Fresh Thyme and saw these scallops and all the ideas just started flowing.
This was a pretty big leap for me, scallops are one of those things if you don’t cook them just right, they will be tough and chewy. But this dinner was SO amazing, my only regret was that I didn’t have anyone to share this meal with!
I can’t lie, this was the first time I have really cooked with scallops. I have done stuff like seafood cioppino but that really doesn’t count. Those scallops are kinda tiny and cook in a broth rather being served on their own.
Size does matter here. The bigger, the better tasting scallops.
Ingredients: (Serves two)
12 large fresh scallops
1 small bag of baby tri-color carrots (regular baby carrots are fine)
1 bunch of washed kale
1 package riced cauliflower (Trader Joe’s, Fresh Thyme, Pick n Save and Whole Foods should have it.)
1/2 sliced apple
4 cloves of garlic
1/8 cup of chopped parsley
1/8 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Drizzle of olive oil
Few dashes of dried thyme
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt + pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pat scallops completely dry and season with salt and pepper and set aside. Trim kale and toss with carrots, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes and thyme in a big bowl. Spread out veggie mix over a large cookie sheet.
When oven is ready, bake for 20 minutes, stir half way. In a large sauce pan, sauté 1 tablespoon of butter and cauliflower for about 6 minutes until soft. Add heavy cream and 1 clove of garlic to cauliflower.
Cook for another 2 minutes and add the parmesan cheese and stir. Next, transfer to a bowl and use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. (You can use a food processor or blender if you don’t have an immersion blender.) Transfer cauliflower purée back into the sauce pan and keep warm on low heat until ready to eat. In another pan, add sliced apples, olive oil, garlic, 1/2 the white wine, parsley and cook for about 6 minutes until apples and garlic are tender. While that is cooking, it’s scallop time! Drizzle a little olive oil in a very very hot pan (high heat) and when it starts to lightly smoke, add scallops. **Be careful, the oil might splatter. Depending on size, cook 2-4 minutes per side until they have a nice golden brown crust on them.
Remove pan from heat and add the remaining white wine and deglaze the pan. Plate the veggies, cauliflower puree, scallops and drizzle the apples and garlic mixture over top of the scallops and eat!
SO GOOD. You won’t know what hit ya. Don’t be affraid to try new things friends.
xx
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