Quinoa Pilaf with Scallops

Doesn't this sound super fancy?  Oh so good.  If a recipe calls for scallops, it's really impossible to pass up.  I found it in Eating Well magazine.  There are a lot of instructions to this but it's easy.  Really.  Try it.

The recipe says that it serves 4 people (3 scallops and 3/4 c quinoa salad).  Right……..  We love scallops and finished all of the scallops between 2 of us (one of us had more than the other)  and had about 1 cup of quinoa left over.    We must have been extra hungry that day.


Quinoa Pilaf with Scallops

2 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 scallions, sliced, greens and whites separated
1 c. quinoa
1 c. water
2 medium blood oranges or navel oranges
1/4 c toasted sliced almonds, divided
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 t ground cumin, divided
1/2 t ground coriander, divided
1/4 t salt
1 pound dry sea scallops

Heat 1 T oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add scallion whites. Cook, stirring until they begin to brown (about 1 minute).  Add quinoa and cook, stirring until it is toasted and fragrant (about 1 minute).  Add water and bring it to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, 10-15 minutes.  Let stand, covered for 5 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, remove the peel and white pith from the oranges and segment them from the membranes,  Squeeze the juice from the membranes in a bowl.   Add the scallion greens, almonds, cilantro, 1/2 t cumin, 1/4 t coriander and salt to the bowl.  Gently stir to combine.

Pat the scallops dry and sprinkle both sides with the remaining 1/2 t cumin and 1/4 t coriander.  Heat the remaining 1 T oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-hight heat.  Add the scallops and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Add the quinoa to the bowl with orange mixture and gently stir to combine.

Serve the scallops over the warm quinoa salad.

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Comments:
c = cup
T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon

Here are the specific ingredients I used:
Trader Joe's Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Trader Joe's Organic Tri-Color Quinoa
1 large blood orange
Trader Joe's frozen Jumbo Wild Caught Scallops, thawed of course
I didn't have sliced almonds on hand, but I did have slivered almonds.  I just chopped those up a bit instead
I only had whole coriander, so I put some in my coffee grinder and voila--ground coriander.