Paleo Shrimp Scampi

I saw this incredibly simple paleo shrimp scampi recipe that I had to make to go along with my raw paleo creamy basil zucchini pasta dish–it just seemed like the right thing to do. This dish literally takes less than 10 minutes to throw together and is full of delicious lemony, herby white wine flavor. The best part is the obligatory glass of wine while you’re cooking. A little dash in the pan and a little dash in your glass!

Paleo Shrimp Scampi (Adapted from Naomi Siegel on Pinterest) (Difficulty-Easy; Serves 4)

• 1 lb. wild-caught shrimp, rinsed, peeled and deveined
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. organic parsley, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. almond meal
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 1/2 an organic lemon
• 1/4 c. dry white wine

Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Place olive oil in a baking dish and set oven to broil. Place the shrimp in the baking dish, season with salt and cover with fresh squeezed lemon juice and white wine.

Place the remaining ingredients in a small food processor or chopper and pulse to combine. The resulting mixture will be a little more moist if you use fresh garlic and parsley, which I did, and think is well worth taking an extra minute to distribute the seasoning over the shrimp than if you had used dried herbs. Lastly, sprinkle the mixture evenly over the shrimp and place in the oven. Broil until pink, about 3-4 minutes. Flip with a spatula and return to the oven for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve with creamy basil zucchini pasta and generously spoon the extra sauce from the pan over the shrimp.  

Salmon Florentine

I’ve been enjoying a lot of Mediterranean dishes lately and dreaming of lying on a beach off the coast of Italy. When I saw that Sprouts (our local “farmer’s market”) had wild sockeye salmon on sale I knew it was time to make this Salmon Florentine recipe I had been eye-balling. Now I know sockeye salmon is mostly found in the Northern Pacific, and Florence is slightly far-off from the Mediterranean, but Tuscany is still teeming with those fresh local flavors like sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and this is a nice twist on the classic Chicken Florentine. It is the perfect summer dish, packed with flavor, yet still light and fresh. I served mine with parsley and lemon quinoa with pine nuts and a sprinkle of pecorino cheese. And if you’re looking for a grain-free, yet indulgent dessert, check out my Chocolate and Olive Oil Fig Cakes here! Ahh what I wouldn’t give to be sitting outside a Tuscan cafe right now…

Salmon Florentine (Adapted from SELF) (Difficulty-Easy; Serves 2) 

• 5 oz.  organic spinach
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c. minced shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 2-3 wild-caught skinless salmon fillets (4-6 oz each), rinsed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more. Add spinach, tomatoes, salt, pepper flakes and pepper; cook, stirring until spinach is cooked through, 2-3 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool about 15 minutes. Add cottage cheese; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Pack about 1/2 cup spinach mixture on top of each fillet, matching the shape of the fillet. Place fillets in a glass baking dish; bake until cooked through, 15 minutes. 

Chile Citrus Banana Leaf Mahi Mahi with Fried Plantain & Spinach Quinoa

Nothing says summer to me more than Latin flavors which always bring thoughts of sunshine, beaches, and carefree living! I remember when I returned from a Costa Rican vacation a couple years ago, I made rice and beans for weeks to keep the dream alive. This dish reminded me of that trip where I ate plantains multiple times a day–I couldn’t get enough of them. They are loaded with sugar so they are not really Primal but I splurged a little for this brightly flavored summer meal.

Chile and Citrus Banana Leaf Mahi Mahi (Adapted from Food Network Magazine) (Difficulty-Intermediate; Serves 4-6)

• 5 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 orange (1/2 juiced, 1/2 thinly sliced into 6 half-moons)
• 1 lime (1/2 juiced, 1/2 thinly sliced into 6 half-moons)
• Kosher salt
• 16 oz. fresh banana leaves
• 6 6-ounce mahi mahi fillets

Put the chiles in a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak until pliable, about 15 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid, then drain the chiles.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano and cumin and cook until the onion is soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender along with the reserved chile soaking liquid, the chiles, orange juice, lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; blend until smooth.

Unfold the banana leaves and cut into six 12-inch-long pieces; rinse and pat dry. Place a banana leaf shiny-side down on a work surface. Coat the fish generously with the pureed chile mixture. Place 1 mahi mahi fillet in the center of the leaf and top with a slice each of orange and lime. Fold 2 opposite ends of the leaf over the fish, overlapping them to tightly enclose the fish, then tuck the open ends underneath. Transfer to a large roasting pan or baking dish. Repeat to make 5 more banana leaf-wrapped fillets, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator and let the fish marinate 1 to 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the fish is just cooked through, opening a packet to check for doneness, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer to plates and carefully unwrap just before eating.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/banana-leaf-mahi-mahi-with-citrus-and-chiles-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback\

Fried Plantain and Spinach Quinoa (Difficulty-Easy; Serves 6)

• 2 medium plantains, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, palm oil, or animal fat for frying
• 2-3 organic scallions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. mexican seasoning
• 1 tsp. coarse ground sea salt
• 12 oz. organic baby spinach
• 1 cup yellow quinoa, cooked

Cook quinoa in two cups of simmering salted water for 15 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the plantains and fry about 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove to a paper towel to drain. You can also bake the plantains at 375°F for 15 minutes.  

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of frying oil and reduce heat to medium. Add scallions, cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook about 5 minutes or until spinach is just wilted. Add the quinoa, paprika, cayenne, mexican seasoning, and salt. Finally stir in the fried or baked plantains and serve with chile citrus mahi mahi.

 

Coconut Crusted Scallops with Cilantro Lime Drizzle

A fresh summer seafood dish to brighten up your day! I had bacon wrapped scallops on my mind for some reason the past few weeks, but once I went an entire week without eating any animal protein at the meditation retreat, I felt guilty going straight to the grocery store to buy bacon. Alas, I stuck with a lighter, more summer-y scallop creation. I eat coconut products on the regular, but even still this week I had some serious coconut cravings so I decided to make a coconut-crusted scallop–if only I also had macadamia nuts in the house (Try adding a 1/2 cup of chopped macadamias to this recipe)! I’ve been on a cilantro kick as well, and even better, my cousin and roomie both recently informed me that it is the best herb to detoxify heavy metals–don’t you just love nature’s way of fighting off all those terrible toxins?! And thus a cilantro lime dressing was born.

Coconut Crusted Scallops with Cilantro Lime Drizzle (Adapted from Coconut Oil Cooking) (Difficulty-Intermediate; Serves 4)

Cilantro Lime Sauce

• 1 bunch organic cilantro, stemmed
• 1 serrano peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
• 2 organic green onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• Juice from 1 fresh lime
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin organic coconut oil
• salt to taste

Coconut Crusted Scallops:

• 1 1/2 c. coconut flakes
• 1/2 c. almond meal
• 1/2 c. arrow root powder
• 1 large free-range organic egg
• 1/4 c. organic unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground sea salt
• 1 lb. wild caught sea scallops, cleaned
• 1 Tbsp. organic extra virgin coconut oil

Make Dressing: Add all ingredients to a blender or Vitamix and blend until well combined. Adjust salt and lime juice as desired.  

Make Scallops: Place coconut, almond meal, onion and garlic powder, and salt  in small sauté pan over low heat, stir occasionally and cook until golden brown, remove from heat.

Place arrow root powder in a small bowl and set aside. Crack egg into a small bowl, add coconut milk and whisk together, set aside.

Take each scallop and place them in the arrow root powder, turning to coat them on all sides, dip each in the egg  mixture, coating all sides, and finally place into the coconut and almond meal mixture turning to coat all sides, set coated scallops on a plate.

In a medium size sauté pan, over low/medium heat, heat oil for about 30 seconds, gently place each scallop into the pan. Cook each scallop about 2 minutes on each side or until coconut is browned and crisp. Serve scallops hot and garnish with the cilantro lime dressing.

Grilled Shrimp, Peach and Arugula Salad

On my Memorial Day weekend visit to Boston I found myself far off the Primal path. Surrounded by several days of rainy weather and wonderful friends, I indulged in all of my old favorites–Sunset‘s South of the Border Giant Fiesta nachos, great craft beers, brunch full of chicken and waffles, Lord Hobo’s mac n cheese, pizza…ugh! This dish was exactly what I needed to kickstart my detox and jump right back into my wonderfully healthy, sunny, Primal, fresh California lifestyle that I’ve come to cherish so much! As soon as I got home I set out for the hiking trail and followed it with this super clean meal. This dish is full of vibrant Summer flavors that will leave your taste buds and belly very happy. I was pleasantly surprised how sweet the peaches were so early in the season too, so if you’re in the southern California area, you’re in for a treat (as with any other day on this beautiful coast)!

Grilled Shrimp, Peach and Arugula Salad (Adapted from The Kitchy Kitchen) (Difficulty-Easy; Serves 4)

• 1 lb. wild caught jumbo shrimp (~12-16 large pieces) 
• 2-3 organic yellow peaches, sliced thin
• 1 small bulb organic fennel, sliced thin
• 1/2 c. loose organic cilantro leaves
• 1 7oz. bag organic arugula
• 4 Tbsp. lime juice (from about 2 organic limes)
• 1/2 c. organic extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Hungarian or smoked paprika
• sriracha (optional)

Prepare the shrimp with salt, pepper, and Hungarian or smoked paprika. Heat a grill pan over medium-high and spray with natural cooking spray or brush with a little olive oil. Cook the shrimp on the grill pan, about 3-4 minutes on each side depending on size.

Assemble the arugula with peaches, fennel and cilantro. In a medium bowl, whisk the lime juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the grilled shrimp on the assembled salad and drizzle with the lime dressing. Add a few squirts of sriracha for some extra spice if desired.