Fresh Spinach and Spicy Scallop Salad

I think you will find this salad to be refreshing and full of flavor. When it comes to scallops fresh is best but often are hard to get depending of course on where you live. If they are available in your area be sure to get them fresh but if not you can still create a great dish with frozen ones. If using frozen scallops thaw them and pat them dry, coat the scallops with a little bit of olive oil and season generously with fresh minced garlic, Mrs. Dash Salt Free Extra Spicy Blend, and fresh ground black pepper. If you have a Cajun Spice Blend you like to use you can replace the Mrs. Dash with that. You should figure on about 4 ounces of scallops per person so buy according to your needs.  Any way season your scallops well and put them back into the refrigerator until it's time to cook them. Now if you're having a salad you might want to make a nice dressing for it. I have chosen to make a Citrus Dijon Vinaigrette to go with the Scallop Salad. Ingredients you will need for this are:

Juice from 1 orange
White wine vinegar                           1/4 cup
Dijon mustard                                   2 Tbs
Red Onion, minced                            1/4 cup
Fresh garlic, minced                           4 -5 cloves
Fresh ground black pepper                about 20 turns of pepper mill
Fresh parsley, chopped                       1 Tbs
Honey                                                  1/3 cup
Olive oil                                              1/2 cup

Mix all ingredients well except for olive oil, add oil gradually whisking it in as you add. Check seasoning and adjust as you desire. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

Now for the salad you will need fresh spinach, red onions, Mandarin oranges and toasted almonds. Julienne the red onion, about 1/4 of an onion should be plenty and an 11 ounce can of Mandarin orange segments will make 3-4 salads. I bought a 2 ounce bag of sliced almonds, put them on a cookie sheet and toast in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Be sure to use a timer as they will burn quickly if you forget. Start heating a skillet for the scallops. You will want to cook them kind of hot so I would say about medium high heat. I like to pull the stem off the spinach leaf as it makes it more appealing to the eye but that is entirely up to you. Clean the spinach and arrange on plates, usually a couple of ounces of spinach proves to make a pretty decent salad. Arrange the Mandarin oranges and red onions as desired and set salads aside until the scallops are done.
The skillet should be good and hot by now so start placing the scallops in one at a time. Be sure to place them with the flat side down. Cook until they start to take on some good color and turn to the other side to finish. Scallops cook kind of quick and will firm up as they cook. I would say 10 to 15 minutes total depending on size. Be careful not to overcook as they will get rubbery. Arrange the scallops on the spinach, drizzle about an ounce of the dressing over and top with the toasted almonds. Enjoy!!!