My wife and I have a good solid rotation of healthy, delicious meals that we love. They’re easy to throw together after a long day at work and are always satisfying. I’m going to start documenting them here because I think it can sometimes be difficult to find easy recipes that are actually easy. My wife makes this amazing BLT salad that we literally eat a few times a month because it’s so good–way better than any salad I’ve ever had out. That being said, every once in a while you need to mix it up and try something completely new. Enter my new favorite meal.
I’m not sure what provoked me to try a meal that was all so new. I’m a pretty seasoned cook at home, my wife and I basically split up the week so I tend to make at least 3-4 meals a week. But this recipe had tons of firsts for me. It was my first time making pesto. My first time cooking scallops. And my first time cooking sole. But that’s what I love about cooking, you just take a chance and see what happens. In this case, it turned out delicious.
The pesto was great and it’s packed with so many nutrients it’s almost ridiculous. If you have kids this pesto would be a great dip for them to use on almost anything and I can pretty much guarantee they will love it. If you’re not a fan of seafood you could easily replace it with a nice lemon chicken or go vegetarian and remove the meat altogether. I will say, the most difficult part of this recipe is balancing timing. Getting everything to be done at once, especially with seafood which can cool off quickly, was a balancing act. My recommendation would be to finish the pesto start to finish first. Then move on to the pasta. I used whole wheat pasta which takes quite a bit longer than regular old pasta so if you do the same make sure you don’t start your seafood until the pasta is basically almost ready.
Check out the simple recipe and let me know how it goes for you–I’d love to hear from you all on Instagram or in the comments section.
INGREDIENTS
4 scallops
2 dover sole filets
Pasta (choose your fave)
1/2 lemon
Butter
Fresh ground pepper
1-2 heads of broccoli (depending on how large they are)
1 clove minced garlic
KALE BASIL PESTO INGREDIENTS
1/2 lemon
1 bunch of kale
Handful of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
A dash or two of both salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
- First, make the pesto which is super easy! Remove kale leaves from stems and then add all the ingredients to your food processor–I added the whole half lemon cut into slices, rind and skin and all. It added a nice full flavor but do what you want. Once it’s all blended you can add more of anything to your taste. Add additional olive oil to get the consistency you like. I didn’t add parmesan cheese but most pestos include it so you can add if you like.
- Boil your water and cook your pasta. Cut your broccoli into bite size florets. When your pasta only has a few minutes left, add your broccoli florets to the boiling water. Once your pasta and broccoli are cooked (broccoli should be bright green and still crisp) remove from heat and pour through colander to remove water.
- For both the sole add a pad of butter to a pan and let it melt. Add the garlic and let it heat in the butter for a bit. Add your fish or scallops and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Season with a little ground pepper. Oftentimes sole filets are super thin so they only take about 2 minutes on both sides. If the fish shreds when you are flipping (as mine did) don’t sweat it because you’re just going to crumble it over top your pasta.
- For the scallops, like the sole, add a pad of butter to a small pan. Add some garlic and let it heat in the butter. Keep in mind that this is where all the flavor for your scallops is coming from so ensure there is enough butter and garlic in the pan. Cook scallops on each side for about 2 minutes ensuring you get a nice sear on both sides.
- I added the sole atop my pasta and had the scallops on the side. I topped my pasta, broccoli and sole with pesto and a little parmesan cheese. Then I proceeded to eat everything very quickly because it was so good but that’s just me. Eat at your own pace. 🙂
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