Scallops with Qunioa and Pomegranate Gastrique

Ever since I purchased the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook last fall, I've had my eye on this recipe.



It's been bookmarked and calling my name for at least 4 months now.

So, after an overwhelming desire to have a sweet little scallop melting in my mouth, I made the decision to run my tush down to the fish market and pick up some of most beautiful scallops I've ever seen.  Yes.  I said it.  Little white blobs of shellfish can indeed be beautiful.  Especially when you know you'll be devouring them within several hours.

I occasionally order scallops when I go out, but for some reason these scallops blew most others I've had out of the water.  I can only assume that it had to do with the freshness (what ever will I do when I don't have fresh Boston seafood??) and not the perfection of cooking. 

I'll admit that I was a bit timid going into this thing.  I've prepared scallops before but they aren't just an every night kind of meal.  I needed them to be absolutely perfect.

And as you can already tell, I was pretty darn happy with them.  And in fact, they were absolutely perfect.  But the kicker is that they were easy and didn't require any sort of skill.  I plopped them in the pan and kept a somewhat close eye on them.  That's it.

They may pile a few dishes in your sink but...if you're making scallops...someone else should be doing the dishes.

Okay.  So you're going to make these.  Please and thank you.

One last thing.  As I mentioned on Monday, I'm heading to Missouri tomorrow to throw my sister's bridal shower!  So I'll probably be absent for a few days.  But...guess what.  Monday is this little blog's 2nd birthday!  Can you believe it?  She's growing up so fast.  And birthdays mean presents...for you...so I'll be doing a giveaway...so you should come back on Monday and celebrate with me!



Adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook

Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
16 large scallops
1 cup red or black quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup pomegranate juice
3/4 cup vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Remove scallops from the refrigerator and let them rest at room temperature.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the honey and vinegar, stirring to combine.  Add the pomegranate juice and bring to a boil.  Cook until reduced by half, about 8 minutes.  Add 3/4 cup vegetable broth and reduce to half again, about 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
3. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  In a saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat.  Add the quinoa, cover, and cook until the liquid is absorbed. 16-18 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.
4. While the quinoa is cooking heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms and green onions until soft.  Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Pat the scallops completely dry and sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper.  Heat the coconut (or olive) oil in a pan (the same one you just cooked the mushrooms in) over medium-high heat.  Add as many scallops as you can and cook for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook on the other side until a crust as formed and they are starting to pull away from the pan, another 3-4 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining scallops.
6. Stir the mushrooms/green onions and pomegranate seeds into the cooked quinoa, adding salt and pepper to taste.
7. To serve, divide the quinoa and scallops among 4 plates and drizzle each with the pomegranate gastrique and garnish with chives.