Scallops, Spinach and Bacon

 

I found some wild, sustainably harvested scallops for only $8 at Upper Hutt Pak n Save, so I thought I would use them in today’s recipe.  They were fantastic, so here is the recipe with a tomato and avocado salad.

I used:

• 1/2 bag of frozen scallops
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 an onion, sliced
• 3 tbs fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 3 rashers bacon, sliced (rind removed)
• 3 large fresh spinach leaves, sliced (or a handful of baby spinach leaves, uncut)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 an avocado, thickly diced
• olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• salt and pepper

Place 1/4 cup of water in a large saucepan and turn up to a high heat.  Rinse the scallops under running water and place in the saucepan.  Steam the scallops over a high heat, this will only take a few minutes.  Shake the saucepan from time to time to stop the scallops from sticking and burning.  When cooked, put to the side, retaining the juice for later.

While the scallops steam, slice up the garlic, onion, bacon, parsley and spinach.  Heat a heavy based frying pan to a medium heat, drizzle with a little olive oil and add the butter.  Add the garlic, onion, bacon and parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion and garlic are soft.  Add the scallops, retaining some shells if you would like to make the dish look a little meatier.  Add 4 tablespoons of the scallop juice and then the spinach, cooking on a low heat until the spinach is wilted.

Toss the cherry tomatoes and diced avocado in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Serve the salad on the side of the scallops.  This would also work with a big green salad, topped with grated parmesan.

Enjoy!