Seared Scallops over Spinach and Cannellini Beans

If you follow me on Instagram (AdaBishop), you know I've made this before. I decided to make it again because it is delicious, easy, and photographs oh so beautifully.

The trick here is to dry the scallops thoroughly so that you achieve a picture perfect sear. Another suggestion would be to use FRESH scallops. Whole Foods carries a one pound bag of jumbo scallops that work fine, but please use fresh if you can find them at your fish market.

The recipe came from Women's Health, but I found it on Pinterest (naturally). Last time I made this, I followed the recipe pretty closely, but tonight I took some "culinary liberties."

Seared Scallops over Cannellini Beans and Spinach

Ingredients

Serves:  Prep:  7min |Cook: 11min |Total: 18min
              

• 2 strips bacon, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cans white beans (14 oz each), rinsed and drained
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 lb large sea scallops
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1.

Heat a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook the bacon until it has begun to crisp. Add the onion and garlic; saute until the onion is soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white beans and spinach and simmer until the beans are hot and the spinach is wilted. Keep warm.

2.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Blot the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the butter and the scallops to the pan and sear the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deeply caramelized.

3.

Before serving, add the lemon juice to the beans. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the beans among 4 warm bowls or plates and top with scallops.

Recipe Tips

There are a lot of different types of white beans sold in cans. All will work, but cannellini beans are best

Recipe Notes

Feel free to kill the bacon, but for about 18 calories per serving, it adds a ton of flavor to the overall dish. .

Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES

266 CAL

FAT

6.4 G

SATURATED FAT

2.5 G

CHOLESTEROL

49.5 MG

SODIUM

392.9 MG

CARBOHYDRATES

24.9 G

TOTAL SUGARS

2.1 G

DIETARY FIBER

6.4 G

PROTEIN

27.3 G

NOTES:
I used about FIVE slices of bacon (gasp) and loved every bit of it!

"Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches"

Yes. That was entirely in quotation marks for a reason. As a Texas raised girl, I was nervous and was afraid I didn't stand a chance making CAROLINA pulled pork. But it was too late. The pork was in the crock pot and the sauce had been made. My obsession with CPP is evident as soon as you look at my Pinterest "food" board. Sleepless nights have been spent creating the perfect sauce to a meal I have never made and have only had ONCE. Yes. Once. 

The meal started at 10:30 this morning. I seasoned the pork, seared it just enough to get a crisp, although, I didn't understand the searing part because, HELLO, it's going to spend EIGHT hours in a steaming crock pot! I still did it. I also made sauce, which to me seemed delicious and spot on. That was at 10:30 A.M.. I took some "culinary liberties" because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Plus, I'm not really one to be afraid of substitutions. Cooking is flexible like that. That's why I love it.

If you're still reading, good. You've reached the disclaimer! I just want to advise you that the sauce has vinegar in it. I used cider vinegar. And let me tell you... It. Stings. The. Nostrils. Go ahead, say it in your best Ron Burgundy voice. With that said, here is my recipe for CPP. Please see my notes for my variations.

Finally... on to the recipe...



Carolina Pulled Pork adapted from Coloradomoms.com

Ingredients

2 onions, quartered

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs paprika

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 (4-6) lb boneless pork butt or shoulder roast

3/4 c cider vinegar

4 tsp worcestershire

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

hamburger buns

coleslaw (optional)*

Instructions

Place onions in crockpot. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub over roast. Place roast over onion.

Combine vinegar, worcestershire, red pepper, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne; stir to mix well. Drizzle about 1/3 over roast; cover and refrigerate the remainder.

Cover crockpot and cook low 8 hrs or high 4-6 hrs. Drizzle about 1/3 reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last 30 min of cooking. Remove meat and onions, drain. Chop or shred meat and chop onions. Serve on buns. If desired, top with coleslaw. Use remaining vinegar on sandwiches.

NOTES:
I only used two pounds of pork shoulder, so I halved the measurements. Also, I completely omitted the sugar and I used dijon mustard instead of dry mustard. I should also mention that I accidentally used paprika in the sauce. It didn't concern me at all because I like paprika and it enhanced the flavor and color of the sauce.

*My favorite substitution I made was the coleslaw. I din't use traditional cabbage slaw. Instead, I used a delicious (and better for you) broccoli and carrot slaw. I got it at Whole Foods. I gave it a creamy texture by using plain Greek yogurt and just a tiny amount of light mayo. You can even omit the mayo if you don't care for it. I also seasoned it with paprika, salt, and fresh ground pepper.

COLE SLAW
2 C broccoli slaw
2 T Plain Greek yogurt
1 t light mayo
1/2 t paprika
Salt & pepper to taste