My child ate spinach!  Yep, sautéed spinach.  As he tasted it, and I made a Popeye reference, and he said “Yum!”… I almost dropped everything and exclaimed that I have officially succeeded as a parent!

If your child is anything like mine, they could live on noodles, cookies, and gummies.  But, we try and try to get them to eat a balanced diet.  Somehow, I was blessed with a child that will try almost anything.  To keep him eating it, well that’s a different story.  Somehow we got him to like scallops, and then this wonderful spinach experience happened.  Whoo hoo!

Oh, and I suppose you might wonder if we liked this dish… we did!  I made it after work on a Friday night, and it came together in under 20 minutes and tasted (and looked) like you ordered it at a restaurant.  I loved it.

I did buy the dry vermouth specifically for this recipe.  I think it gave it the most interesting flavor.  I did read that you could substitute dry white wine, or chicken broth, but I was glad that I bought the dry vermouth and am going to look for more recipes in which to use it (until I can mix myself a martini!).

Scallop Piccata with Sautéed Spinach
courtesy of Cooking Light, November 2009

Serves 4
WW PointsPlus: 7 (Note this is without the angel hair pasta, which I did serve it with)

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 12)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup vermouth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons capers
1 (10-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper over scallops. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped garlic to pan; cook 10 seconds. Add vermouth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Add parsley, fresh lemon juice, butter, and capers, stirring until butter melts. Pour sauce in a bowl.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach; sauté 30 seconds or until spinach almost wilts. Drizzle sauce over scallops; serve with spinach.

~M