Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Warm Roasted Scallop Salad

The Delightful Warm Roasted Scallop SaladThis recipe is a riff on a Tyler Florence recipe that was originally made for me by my good friend, the talented and beautiful Britt Conway. Whenever I'm craving comfort food without the heavy weight of cheese and guilt, this is my go-to recipe. It's like a giant snuggle for your belly on those cold winter days - really perfect for today - the Blizzard of 2015...that turned out to be way over-hyped here in NYC. We had enough snow for a fun romp in the park with our dog this morning, but the 7 or so inches we ended up with is significantly less than the forecasted 2 feet. I was really looking forward to some snowshoeing in the park, but the snow just isn't quite deep enough to make it really fun.

I love how versatile this recipe is. The original recipe calls for shrimp, but I often make it with scallops instead. (We have some shrimp allergies in my family, so this swap is very useful!) I couldn't find arugula at the store, so I used watercress. You could also substitute spinach in a pinch, but I think the peppery flavor of arugula or watercress really adds to the appeal. The vinegar is also flexible. It's great with red wine vinegar, but since I didn't have enough, I used apple cider vinegar - still delicious. You can also make this without the bacon for your pescetarian friends, but I think the bacon really adds great depth.

Warm Roasted Scallop Salad
Serves 2-4

  • 1 lb sea scallops (or peeled, deveined shrimp)
  • 4 slices bacon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 8-10 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 pint tomatoes (grape or cherry whole, but chopped if larger)
  • 1 - 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 10 oz watercress (or arugula)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the scallops in a single layer on half of a large baking sheet. Drizzle the scallops with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Spread the bacon slices on the other half of the baking sheet and layer the sage leaves over the bacon.

Delightful Scallops Bacon and Sage Ready for Roasting

On another baking sheet, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

The Delightful Tomatoes Ready for Roasting

Place both baking sheets in the oven. Roast the tomatoes about 12 minutes and the scallops and bacon for 12, flipping once. Remove the tomatoes. Finish the scallops and bacon under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, until scallops are done and bacon is crispy.  

In a large bowl, mix cannellini beans with red wine vinegar and a big drizzle of olive oil and season to with salt and pepper. 


The Delightful Cannellini Beans Seasoned

Scrape the tomatoes and juices in the bowl and toss to mix with the beans. Crumble bacon and sage and scrape into the bowl. Cut the scallops into bite size pieces and add to the bowl.

Delightful Bacon, Roasted Scallops, Tomatoes and Beans

Add the watercress and toss. Season with additional salt, pepper and olive oil as needed. 


The Delightful Watercress for Roasted Scallop Salad

Serve with crusty bread.


The Delightful Warm Roasted Scallop Salad with Bacon

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Prosciutto Artichoke Baked Egg Cups

New Year, New You, right? Lots of folks I know (including me) use January 1st as a reset button. This year, I cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates. I'm thinking of cutting out dairy too since I switched to Almond Milk over a year ago, but for now, low fat cheese is still in the plan. I was looking for a hearty, sort of fancy breakfast that still fit the plan, and I came up with this twist on the standard baked egg in a Canadian bacon cup. I love that I can make it just for myself or could serve it at a brunch to guests. The addition of artichokes and pesto really adds a punch of flavor. Without the cheese on top and with a sub of Paleo pesto or shredded basil instead of regular pesto, this would totally work for a Paleo or Whole30 diet.

Prosciutto Artichoke Baked Egg Cups
Serves 2

  • 6 slices prosciutto
  • 3 artichoke hearts, chopped
  • 2 tsp pesto (can sub Paleo pesto or shredded basil)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (Optional)
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 4 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray. Cut two slices of prosciutto in half the short way. Line the inside of the muffin tin with a full slice of prosciutto. Add another half a slice to cover any holes. 

Distribute chopped artichoke hearts evenly among the 4 cups. Press into the bottom and sides of the cup.


Spread 1/2 tsp pesto over the artichokes in each cup. 


Crack one egg into each cup. 


Top each cup with 1/2 oz shredded cheese. 


Bake for 15 to 20 minutes to desired doneness - 15 minutes for a soft yoke, 20 minutes cooked all the way through. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. 


Run a knife gently around the edge of the cup to loosen, and the prosciutto should pop out easily.