Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce, aside Spaghetti Squash and Kale "Pasta"
(serves 4)
Seared Scallops:
Ingredients:
1 pound large scallops, about 14 to 16
2-3tsp Kosher salt
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup unsalted chicken broth/stock
½ cup white wine (Keto alternative: use additional chicken broth/stock)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon capers rinsed
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
Black pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon chopped chives
6 lemon wedges
Method:
Allow scallops to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature before cooking.
In a 12-inch sauté pan or cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until oil ripples and just begins to smoke.
Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt on both sides.
Place scallops into the hot pan without crowding. Gently press scallops with a spatula to make direct contact with the pan.
Sear scallops without moving them, continuing to cook until bottoms are a rich golden brown, 3 to 3 ½ minutes.
Add butter to the pan. Turn the scallops over and cook the second side. Use a spoon to baste the scallops with the butter, tilting the pan to collect the butter as needed.
When the scallops are opaque in color and firm to the touch, about 1 to 2 minutes, turn off heat and transfer to a plate, do not discard pan.
In the same pan used for cooking the scallops, turn heat to medium. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant but not browned.
(If not using wine, skip this step) Increase heat to medium-high and add wine. Simmer wine, stirring as needed until the wine is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
Turn heat to high and add the chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice and capers to the pan. Cook until sauce is reduced by half, about ½ cup, 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn off heat and whisk in Dijon mustard.
Turn heat to medium and add scallops back to pan, cook until warm, 2 minutes.
Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Once plated, garnish scallops with sauce and capers. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Spaghetti Squash and Kale "Pasta"
Ingredients
Spaghetti Squash:
1 medium-sized Spaghetti Squash
Kale:
1 bunch of Kale, de-stemmed, sliced thinly
¼ tsp Salt
2 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
1 Lemon, zested
Extras:
1tbsp sage
1tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Squash:
Preheat the oven to 350F
Cut squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out seeds and pulp
Place cut side down on a baking sheet or oven-proof dish.
Pour water in sheet or dish until it reaches about 1-2 cm (under and inch) up the sides of the squash.
Bake for 25-40 minutes, or until the flesh pulls away from the sides of the squash into spaghetti strands (using tongs, carefully flip the halves over to check this).
Be careful not to overcook it, use a timer and try to underestimate how long it will take. It is better to under-cook it a little bit than overcook it, because you can always finish cooking it in the pasta pan.
Once down, removed squash from shells with fork. Spread the spaghetti strands out on a flat surface so that they don't overcook from residual heat until you're ready to throw them in with the rest of the ingredients.
You can even make these a day or two in advance.
For the Kale:
Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and massage it with your hands until it softens
For Everything Else:
In a large pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic in oil until softened and starts to smell good, careful not to brown.
Add the cooked squash and toss it all together to disperse the flavors and heat it all through.
Add sage, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper to taste.
Turn off the heat and add the kale and a little olive oil, gently stirring to mix it through.
Taste it for seasoning, it may (probably will) need some more salt.