Proud Italian Cook

Pistachio Crusted Scallops with Winter Citrus Salsa

January 25, 2016 by Marie 6 Comments

I’ve been craving citrus lately, maybe it’s because January is such a cold and gloomy month and all that colorful citrus just brightens my day, I don’t know but I’m sure loving all the different varieties that are available right now. I recently made this salsa using my favorite cara cara, blood and navel oranges, the vibrant flavors pair wonderfully with sweet and buttery sea scallops, it was the perfect match, but if you’re not a fan of scallops I’m sure any firm white fish would work just as well.

The scallops are crusted with finely chopped pistachio’s, a little butter and parsley, and I can only describe the two combinations as luxurious, and both the salsa and the scallops are ridiculously simple to make!

You can make your salsa earlier in the day and have that all ready to go, it takes a little time cutting the segments and removing all the pith, but other than that this whole meal comes together very quickly.

I only buy dry packed sea scallops and I still press them on paper towel to make sure they’re as dry as possible, dry scallops guarantee a beautiful sear.

After your scallops are seared and finished cooking, which is only a couple of minutes, you press your nut mixture on top and spoon that lovely citrus salsa onto the plate.

This is an elegant, light, scrumptious meal, like fine dining at home, a contender for Valentine’s Day for sure!

I can’t wait to make this again.

(Want to see what I’m cooking up during the week? Check out Proud Italian Cook on Instagram )

5.0 from 1 reviews

Pistachio Crusted Scallops with Winter Citrus Salsa

Author: Marie

Ingredients

CITRUS SALSA
3 different varieties of orange citrus like cara cara, mineola, navel, blood orange, cut into small segments with pith removed.
2 or 3 tablespoons of red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
half a clove of garlic, grated on a microplane
a small bunch of chopped parsley
a dash of red pepper flakes, optional
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to loosen the salsa up
PISTACHIO TOPPING
half cup of pistachios, I used the toasted ones from Trader Joes, chop them up small in mini food processor or by hand
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound SEA SCALLOPS, dry packed, padded dry with paper towel and beard removed
additional butter for searing scallops, season with salt and pepper

Instructions

In a bowl mix together all salsa ingredients, set aside.Salsa can be made ahead of time.
For the pistachio topping, chop nuts and place into a small bowl. Melt tablespoon of butter then toss in the parsley, stir, then add butter mixture into the chopped pistachios stirring well to coat all of the nuts completely.
For the scallops, heat your pan nice and hot, do not use a non-stick pan.
Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or a mixture of olive oil and butter to the hot pan, when fat begins to smoke then add scallops, make sure they are not touching each other.
Do not disturb until the underside is browned and crisp around 2 to 4 minutes then turn over gently with tongs and cook another 2 minutes on the other side,remove to serving plate.
Pat the nut mixture on top of each scallop.
Spoon citrus salsa all around, serve immediately and enjoy!

6 Comments Filed Under: Fruit, Seafood Tagged: citrus salsa, pistachio, scallops, winter citrus

Veggie Ricotta Pie with Spaghetti Squash Crust

January 14, 2016 by Marie 11 Comments

Yes, you read that right, spaghetti squash crust, now who would have thought? It works like a charm and it’s a great alternative to a flour crust for a quiche, tart, or in this case a savory ricotta pie.

This is such a nice, healthy vegetarian dinner, especially if you’re still working on your New Years resolution to eating better in 2016, but even if your not it doesn’t matter, this is still a delicious meal you can serve up at anytime.

Basically you cook your spaghetti squash, let it cool, then scrape out the strands with a fork. You can season your squash as you wish, I tossed in a little thyme, salt and pepper then pressed it into my greased pie plate with a sprinkling of grated romano cheese on top for added flavor.

Spread your filling all over the top of the crust, this has ricotta, herbs and a variety of veggies I had leftover in my fridge. I folded some zucchini, red pepper, wild mushrooms, broccoli and a few sundried tomatoes into the ricotta, it’s that simple!

Let it cool down a bit then slice into wedges and serve with a nice green salad on the side and you’ll have a completely satisfying, healthy and delicious dinner for all.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Veggie Ricotta Pie with Spaghetti Squash Crust

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash
2 cups of well drained ricotta
1 garlic clove
fresh herbs
¼ cup grated romano cheese, additional for sprinkling
¼ to ½ cup of grated asiago cheese
3 beaten eggs
assorted sauted veggies
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut your squash in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle each side with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place cut side down on foil lined baking sheet and roast til tender and slightly firm in a 375 degree oven, do not over cook it, it will have too much moisture, don't forget it's still going to bake in the oven again.
After the squash cools down pull the strands out with a fork and season with fresh herbs of your choice.
Press squash on the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch pie plate, sprinkle with romano then set aside. while you make your filling.
As far as veggies go, use what you have or your favorites. In my case I used a handful of mushrooms, red pepper strips, 1 zucchini, a handful of cooked broccoli florets and a couple of sundried tomatoes in oil.
I sauteed the zucchini and pepper strips before I added them, the other veggies I used were precooked already.
In a bowl add the ricotta, garlic, fresh herbs salt and pepper and cheeses, taste for seasoning.
Beat the eggs by hand then pour into the ricotta mixture mixing until all incorporated, then fold in all your veggies.
Pour the filling on top of your spaghetti squash crust and bake at 400 degrees until tip of knife comes out clean in the center, mine took about 40 minutes or so, but keep checking, everyone's oven is different.
Let it cool down before cutting into wedges.

11 Comments Filed Under: Savory Tarts, Vegetables Tagged: glutenfree, low carb, spaghetti squash

Winter Salad with Squash and Hardy Greens

January 7, 2016 by Marie 5 Comments

I don’t know about you but I’m in desperate need of some healthy salads now that the holidays are behind us, in fact I couldn’t wait to run out and buy a bunch of greens. I settled on three gorgeous heads of escarole and my favorite, cavolo nero or Tuscan kale.

I never thought of using escarole in a salad because I normally eat it cooked, in a soup or with beans but I thought these two hearty greens would hold up well together when I layered strips of roasted butternut squash on top along with roasted chickpeas, walnuts and a few other things, and I was right!

I’ve always been a kale fan for salads but now I’m a newly converted escarole salad fan. It’s crunchy, it stays crispy (which I love), it’s hardy and it has a very mild, and an ever so slight bitterness that balanced out the buttery sweet squash. Please give it a try, you won’t be disappointed and besides,it’s really nice and refreshing to break away from the norm.

I love making shards of butternut squash and then roasting them, they look so pretty in a salad or tossed into some pasta, in a frittata or on top of a pizza. I try to buy a squash that has a long neck, because basically that’s the part you’ll be using for this. Remove the skin first with your vegetable peeler then continue making strips turning the neck part as you go.

Toss them gently in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven, keep watching, they could burn quick. Sometimes I move them to the top rack to get rid of some of the moisture and keep a better eye on them.

Let the squash cool down before you add it to the salad. There’s no real recipe here, just a list of ingredients that I used and that I could honestly say was so delicious and went very well together.

Along with the kale, escarole and butternut squash shards, I added roasted chickpeas, feta cheese, toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds all tossed together with a vinaigrette made of olive oil and white balsamic.

This salad is hardy, healthy and just perfect to finish out the cold winter months, and don’t forget you can follow along with me on Instagram to see what I’m cooking up during the week!