With the new Paleo Challenge: Sprint Series underway, I figured now would be a great time to post a little recipe I made up last night. One of my favorite seafood options is scallops. I found a good portion of them on sale at Costco this last weekend and purchased them without any particular recipe in mind.

Scallops have a very mild, almost sweet flavor, and they’re a very tender chew. Oh, and I think you’ll like the fact that on top of their simple goodness they also take less than 5 minutes to cook.

While scallops are rich with protein, vitamin b-12, Omega-3 fats, I decided to up the nutrition factor last night by creating a scallop-topped simple salad.

Salad requirements: (a) a hefty portion of spinach, (b) bright red bell pepper and (c) a sweet fruit of your choosing. I opted for mango.

NOW- I know, i know- this time we’re focusing on less of those high sugar fruits, so I kept my mango/ salad ratio small. Marc, however, was all about his favorite fruit on a bed of leafy greens.

Below you’ll find some directions for stove top scallops and a couple of homemade paleo dressings as a last touch. Enjoy!!

Spinach & Scallop Salad

Ingredients:

• Baby Spinach
• Red Bell Pepper
• Fruit (Mango, Strawberry or anything else of your choosing)
• 1 Pkg. Large Sea Scallops (Fresh & Thawed)- If you happen to purchase these frozen, simply thaw them in a bowl of COLD water- Do not, I repeat DO NOT, attempt to throw them in the microwave or hot water, this will begin to cook the outside of the scallop. Cold Water in a bowl- change that water every 5-10 minutes.
• Butter
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• Lemon

Recipe:

1. Place a pan on the stove to warm at High Heat
2. Chop & assemble the spinach, peppers & mango on salad plates
3. Add Butter & Garlic & the juice of 1/2 a lemon to the pan. Your pan should be very hot before proceeding to step 4.
4. Begin to place the scallops in the pan one by one in a clockwise order as pictured below. This will help with your timing for turning these little suckers over.

5.  As your scallops start sizzlin’ wait one solid minute before touching them. After one minute, start at the top of your “clock” and using a spoon flip the scallops over. They should have a golden color as pictured here:

6. Allow scallops to simmer for one more minute to allow for even cooking.

7. Remove scallops from heat & top with the remaining lemon juice.

8. Assemble your scallops on the top of your pre-prepared salad & coat with one of the dressing options below. Serve hot!

Dressing Ideas

1. Lemon Vinaigrette: Olive Oil, Lemon, Salt & Pepper
2. Olive Oil & Lemon Pepper
3. Homemade Italian dressing: 2 parts olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp pepper, combination of your choice of garlic powder, celery salt, oregano, parsley and salt. Whisk to taste. Store in refrigerator up to 90 days!