Broiled Scallop Salad with Spiced Cashews

Okay – here we go! My first recipe post. And it is fitting that is a recipe with scallops! Wonderful, delightful, flavorful scallops – a family favorite in our house! This recipe is easy, nutritious and perfect for lunch or a light dinner. It is also great for those on the Whole30® – just be sure to check that any of the seasonings you use contain whole ingredients. For example, the only ingredient in your garlic powder should be “garlic” and your Italian seasoning should only contain herbs like oregano, basil, etc.

Interesting thing about buying scallops – if they are stark white, did you know this is a sign that they have been soaked in water to increase their weight so you have to pay more per pound? This makes my eye twitch. So, try to purchase scallops that range in color from a creamy, pale beige to a soft pink from a fishmonger or a seafood counter or store that you trust and has a good reputation for providing quality seafood.

Another plus about scallops, is that most varieties are considered ocean-friendly according to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, a non-profit that helps consumers make choices for healthy oceans. If you are concerned about which varieties are the most ocean-friendly, check out how Seafood Watch classifies different varieties of scallops.

As with all seafood, fresh is generally best and I think this is doubly true for scallops. Frozen scallops can do in a pinch, but I feel they lose a lot of their texture and flavor in the process and, therefore, tend to be more on the rubbery side when cooked.

Also, while I believe that buying organic is best, it is not always practical from a budget perspective. However, there are certain foods you should try to buy organic due to high level of pesticides they contain when grown conventionally according to the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen™. The two veggies in this recipe that fall into this category are the baby spinach and the cherry tomatoes, so purchase these organically if you are able.

My husband and I both from the mid-South though we now call Florida our home. That means we grew up around food influenced not only by traditional Southern fare but also by Cajun, Creole, and Southwestern cuisine so we like stuff hot – like clear-your-sinuses, smack-your-bootie hot!   Therefore, I mention cayenne pepper as an alternative spice in the recipes in this post, but the salad is just as good with paprika or a mild chili powder.

Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Broiled Scallop Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds scallops (dry or diver caught scallops preferably)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

½ to 1 teaspoon paprika (or cayenne pepper if you prefer more heat)

8 oz. fresh baby spinach or your favorite baby greens or baby greens mix

1 cup white mushrooms, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 cup fresh blueberries

Roasted Spicy Cashews, recipe follows

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Divide your greens among four salad plates; top each plate with a ¼ of the diced mushrooms, quartered cherry tomatoes, fresh blueberries, and the Roasted Spicy Cashews.
2. Inspect your scallops and remove the small side muscle that might still be attached to any of the scallops by pinching it between your thumb and index finger and tearing it away; rinse the scallops with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
3. Place the scallops on a non-stick or oiled broiler pan.
4. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and the paprika (or cayenne pepper).
5. Broil at 450 degrees about 6″ away from the heating element for 6 minutes until the scallops turn opaque and start to brown on top.

NOTE: Watch them closely! You do not watch to overcook your scallops or they will be chewy instead of slightly crispy on the top and nice and tender on the inside. If your scallops are on the smaller side or if you are using bay scallops, you may need to halve your cooking time.

6. Once the scallops are cooked, divide them among the four salad plates and serve immediately with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Roasted Spicy Cashews

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews

½ tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon chili pepper or, if you prefer more heat, ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat.
2. Add olive oil and the cashews and toss to coat.
3. Add chili powder (or cayenne pepper), salt, and pepper and toss until the cashews are well coated.
4. Continue to stir the cashews until they start to brown, about three minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve or cool and place in a container and store in cool, dry place for up to one week.

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a jar or a container with a lid. Replace lid on the jar or container and shake vigorously until thoroughly combined.

The Whole30® Experience – Getting Prepared

If you are about to start a Whole30® (Whole30®.com), you’ll definitely be doing yourself a favor to do some prep work up front. I know this from experience – even though I read the book, I basically downloaded the list of approved foods – http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Shopping-List.pdf – and reviewed it with my husband and went shopping. I came up with recipes using the foods I bought as the first week went on. Needless to say this was a bit stressful. So, the next weekend I planned better to save myself some grief and, this is good, because during the first two weeks of the Whole30®, you are already going through enough grief battling your “sugar dragon” as you go through sugar withdrawal. So what do you need to do?

#1 – Get familiar with approved foods and where they can be purchased

• Get very familiar with the list of Whole30® approved foods. If you have questions or want to know what other foods might be okay on the Whole30®, there is a great forum on the Whole30® website that addresses these called “The Official ‘Can I Have…’ Guide to the Whole30®”. Even though I have moved to a Paleo-based diet that is less restrictive than the Whole30®, I still find myself referring this page quite a bit.
• The Whole30® or any Paleo-based diet can be expensive, so do your research to find out what stores in your area not only carry the foods you need to purchase but which ones have the best prices. Go online and check out their weekly circulars and coupons. I actually go to three or four stores each week when I grocery shop. Yes, this can be a pain, but I am frugal so as long as I am saving considerably more than what I am spending on gas to get to these places, it is worth it to me.
• Buying organic can be very expensive! However, there are conventionally grown veggies and fruits that have low enough counts regarding pesticides to be considered safe to consume by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The EWG calls this group of veggies and fruits the Clean Fifteen™. They also provide another list of veggies and fruits that you should by organic due to the high level of pesticides they contain when grown conventionally – the Dirty Dozen Plus™. Eat your heart out, Clint! You can get a PDF version of the EWG’s Shopper’s Guide that contains these lists by entering your email address and zip but both are available for viewing on the site.

#2 – Clean out your pantry and your refrigerator

Get rid of any Whole30® non-compliant foods (or as many as you can anyway). Keep them if you have friends or family that will eat them (and eat them soon!) or give the food away. This can be great time just to go through and organize your pantry and refrigerator and get rid of expired foods. You want to get rid of temptation, like cookies, cereals, desserts, etc. The first couple of weeks of the Whole30® are tough! Don’t make it tougher by keeping ice cream or Oreos around. Of course, if you have kids (and I am raising and waving my hand here), you may have to make some accommodations – just be sensible when making decisions about what to keep.

Also, even though I cooked a lot before the Whole30®, my refrigerator became packed like never before with all the fruits and veggies. Cleaning out the fridge was necessary just to try and get everything to fit! Not a bad thing. In comparison, because we were not eating a lot of processed foods, I freed up a lot of space in my pantry. Just sayin’…

#3 – Plan your meals for the coming week

• Be realistic! You will be doing a lot of cooking while on the Whole30®. You may already do a lot of cooking so this may not be anything new but when on the Whole30®, it is a bit more necessary as there may not be many Whole30®-compliant food options at restaurants in your area. All this to say, plan accordingly. For example, I know when I get home from work on Monday I am not going to be up for spending a lot of time cooking. I’ll either plan on something really easy to prepare, like browned grass-fed ground beef simmered with a Whole30®-compliant jar of store bought marinara sauce over zucchini noodles, or make enough of the Sunday meal to have leftovers for Monday.  Likewise, if you know that your schedule one evening is simply not going to allow for any time to cook, plan on leftovers or a make and freeze a meal ahead of time. Also, do some research ahead of time to see what restaurants in your area can provide a compliant meal (or close to one anyway) in a pinch. The site Paleo Cupboard has a list of options that might be available in your area – check it out – Paleo on the Go.
• Write out your menu for the meals you plan to prepare for the coming week. I have one Word doc that contains all the meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner I have prepared since starting the Whole30® along with links to the recipe if using someone else’s, the cookbook and page number if using a recipes from a cookbook, notes about if my husband or I are going to eat out for lunch on a particular day (if known ahead of time), if we have family or friends coming over for dinner, etc.  Yes, I tend be a bit anal when it comes to lists but keeping a running tally of your meals let’s you know which meals where successes or failures and if a meal was a success, where you got it if it is not your own recipe, along with notes about any changes you made to the recipe, etc.  Refer to my post – http://mypurplepaleo.com/2014/05/22/the-Whole30®-experience-finding-great-recipes-online/ – for great sites that have great Whole30®-compliant recipes.
• If you plan on doing all your shopping for the week at once, keep in mind which foods will perish more quickly when planning your meal timeline so that you can prepare meals using those foods first or know to freeze them until they can be used.
• Make out your grocery list based on your meal plan. Note on your list which store or stores carry the item so you can be more strategic in your shopping. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to spend a lot of my precious time on the weekend grocery shopping so I plan my shopping so I get in, get out, and get on with other, hopefully more fun things!

#4 – Make sure you have the needed tools of the trade

There are certain tools I have found invaluable since starting the Whole30®. While I used most of these before starting a Paleo-based diet, I use them several days a week if not every day some weeks. Here are they are in no particular order:

• At least two non-stick pans. This can be a Teflon®-coated pan or if you are dubious about Teflon®, then a couple of good and seasoned iron skillets will do the trick. Unless you are allergic to or just can’t stand eggs, you will need a good non-stick skillet in the morning. I use two – one to fix the eggs and another to sauté any veggies I am going to serve with the eggs.
• Salad spinner
• Colanders and strainers
• Good sharp knives – chef knife, paring knife, etc.
• Cutting boards
• Mandolin. Not necessary but a great time saver!
• Whisks
• High-powered blender
• A larger food processor and a mini food processor. Again, huge time savers!
• Garlic press – another time saver.
• Vegetable and fruit peeler
• Plenty of storage containers and/or zippable baggies that can be put in the refrigerator or the freezer
• Kitchen shears or scissors
• Spiralizer – again, not necessary but great for creating things like zucchini noodles or other fun vegetable shapes. Check out the site www.inspiralized.com for meal ideas and which spiralizer works best!

Also, having a grill is a definite plus. When the weather is cooperative, we grill at least once a week. Some weeks, I will marinate and grill a bunch of chicken and then use the chicken either in recipes through the week or in salads for lunch, etc.

#5 – Have contingencies in place

Remember, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”! We know this to be true and it is no different with meal plans. I rarely have a week where I don’t have to either make changes to or switch up meals on my meal plan. Life happens and that is a good thing, so just go with the flow. Preparing and freezing meals ahead of time can help in a pinch or when you have a lot going on during the week and not a lot of time to cook. There are number of online resources that can help with freezable recipes. Here is a great list of 50 freezable Whole30® recipes from onceamonthmeals.com.

Hope this helps you in getting prepared for the Whole30®! Good luck and enjoy!

If you have done a Whole30®, please share any additional tips or tricks that could help someone new to the Whole30®!