Pan-Seared Grouper with Asian Sauce

This past weekend I was shopping at one of my usual haunts in Orlando when I spied fresh Florida red grouper fillets at the seafood counter. I loaded up on four beautiful fillets and went on my merry way. This evening I took the fillets out and decided I didn’t want to do the usual lemon, dill, and olive oil on the fillets so I fixed the following recipe and served it over cauliflower rice and served it with Michele Tam’s Oven-Roasted Tomatoes off her nomnompaleo.com site. Yum!

The meal was light but filling. It is also Whole30® compliant. The grouper just melted in my mouth and the almond/coconut flour mixture in which the fillets were dredged before searing gave them a slightly sweet, nutty taste. You do not have to use a lot of the sauce that accompanies the fish. It packs a nice flavor punch that compliments the grouper without being overwhelming.

Be mindful of the type of grouper you get. Many types of grouper in the U.S. are overfished. According to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, a non-profit that helps consumers make choices for healthy oceans, the best alternatives for grouper are red and black grouper from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Hawaiian grouper.

Enjoy!

Preparing the cauliflower rice

As far as the cauliflower rice, should you wish to have the grouper over “rice”, there are ton of recipes out on the web for it but my favorite is very simple. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets (preferably ones with a raised lip around the edges) with parchment paper. Cut up a head of cauliflower into small florets. Rinse well and then working in batches (depending on how big your food processor is) process the cauliflower until it resembles – well – rice. Spread the “rice” evenly onto the two baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you desire. Bake for ten minutes; give it a good stir and spread out again on the sheets and bake for another ten minutes. Voila! My husband was skeptical about cauliflower rice at first and now he much prefers it to regular rice. Working with raw cauliflower is messy work though! That is the only downside. It seems to go everywhere!

• Servings: 4
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
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Pan Seared Grouper with Asian Sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut aminos

½ teaspoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 green onions, diced

½ teaspoon dried ginger

¼ cup Paleo Hoisin Sauce, recipe follows

4 6 oz. to 8 oz. grouper fillets

½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder

¼ cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons ghee

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine the coconut aminos, sesame oil, garlic, ½ of green onions, ginger, and Paleo Hoisin Sauce in a small saucepan, mix well, and bring to a gentle simmer and then keep warm.
2. Combine the Chinese Five Spice powder, the almond flour, the coconut flour, and the salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and mix well.
3. Dredge the fillets in the flour mixture.
4. Heat the olive oil and ghee in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat.
5. When olive oil and ghee are hot, add the fillets and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fillets or until they are opaque in center.
6. Serve the fillets immediately with the warm sauce on the side. Sprinkle the remaining green onions over each fillet.

Paleo Hoisin Sauce

Yield: 1/4 cup (approximately)

Ingredients:

¼ cup coconut aminos

1 tablespoon almond butter

3 to 4 dates, pitted and chopped

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot sauce (Paleo-friendly – check your ingredients)

1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor and process until the mixture starts to emulsify.

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
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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.