Seared Scallops over Spinach & Parmesan Risotto

 

Oh.My.Goodness...This recipe. Wow. I soooo wish I could take credit for how delightful this dish is. I really, really do. I wish I had changed the recipe up a lot so I could tell you how awesome my changes were. But, no. This recipe, courtesy of skinnytaste.com and found here, is pretty much perfect as it stands.

This dish was warm, creamy and full of great flavor. The hubby continued to exclaim how awesome it smelled while I was cooking, and then proceeded to tell me how amazing this was the rest of the night. Like I said, I wish I could take credit for this greatness. But I didn't ruin it, so that's got to count for something, right?

Anyhoo, in spite of the directions looking long, I promise this is not a difficult recipe at all. Not only did I not stir continuously while cooking the risotto, I was pretty low-key while making it. And it was simple. And insanely delicious. So make this. Make it now.

On a side note, I want to let you know that the pictures I took were not of my serving, but of the hubby's. While I ate just as many scallops (plus two more...), I served myself a lot less of the risotto (about 1/4 cup for me vs about 1 cup for John). I found it just as enjoyable, but without any guilt. This dish lists calorie information on link above with the original recipe. Enjoy!

Seared Scallops over Spinach & Parmesan Risotto
Recipe by skinnytaste.com
Serves 4 
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Ingredients:
*16 oz. sea scallops
*1 cup arborio rice
*3 tsp butter
*2 shallots, minced (but keep separate because one is for risotto and the other for scallops!)
*1/2 cup white wine
*4 cups fat free, sodium free chicken stock
*salt and pepper
*1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
*2 tbsp chopped parsley
*1 tsp. olive oil
*6 oz. baby spinach (or more if you'd like - my bag was 6 oz)

Preparation:

For Parmesan Risotto:
*Heat chicken stock in a small pot.

*In a medium size heavy sauce pan, add butter on medium-low heat. Add shallots, saute about 1 minute. Add rice mixing well until well coated and translucent, about 2 minutes. 

*Add wine, salt and pepper and mix well until it is absorbed into the rice. Ladle 1 cup stock into rice and mix until all stock is absorbed. Add another ladle, and continue adding and stirring until all broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes.

*Add parmesan cheese and parsley, mix well and serve.

For Scallops and Spinach:
*Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
 
*Heat a medium size pan on a high flame. When pan is hot, melt 1 tsp butter and place half of the scallops in the pan. Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust.

*Turn over and cook about another minute or 2, until the center is slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side) and the bottom is seared. Be careful not to overcook.  
*Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate. Add addition tsp butter and cook remaining scallops.

*Add olive oil to the pan and sauté shallots. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Toss until spinach wilts.

*Serve over spinach over risotto topped with scallops.

rice, butter, shallot combo

add wine and salt and pepper (obviously before it was absorbed)

Scallops!

Adding parsley and Parmesan to risotto...it's a little fuzzy because of the steam

wilted spinach...note it will shrink A TON when you cook it!

Parmesan Risotto...so creamy

now add spinach

Look at this combination of tastiness

Be sure you get a little bit of everything in each bite!

YUM! Make this NOW!