Spiced Pumpkin Curry with Coconut Seared Weathervane Scallops

Alaska weathervane scallops are the sweetest and most tender scallops in the world. If you've never had one, I suggest you do. If they aren't available where you live you can order them on-line from several companies and they will ship to you frozen. Or you can make a special trip up to Alaska! They really are worth it. I like them plain; pan fried in a little oil or butter and consumed immediately. But to change things up a bit, I decided to play around with some healthy ingredients and develop an easy, low fat curry recipe to accompany the scallops that have been begging to come out of my freezer. Nothing too fancy or with lots of crazy ingredients that are hard to find, but something easy and healthy - did I mention that already? After much trial and error, I've finally come up with something so yummy that I could eat it everyday for a month! It's great on it's own as a vegetarian dish or you can change it up by adding your favorite seafood, chicken or whatever suits your fancy. For the noodles, I used quinoa pasta but brown rice or regular pasta works too. This dish is especially good during the winter months when you need a little extra something to spice you up. ~Audrey

Ingredients:

1/2 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/4 - 1/2 Serrano pepper
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (unsweetened canned)

1/4 cup almond butter

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon 100% maple syrup

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1-2 tablespoons lime juice

2-3 tablespoons hot water

1 package spaghetti

2 cups spinach leaves
1 tablespoon coconut oil 

1/2 cup edamame

12 seared scallops in coconut oil 

diced red bell pepper and green onions for garnish

Serves 4

Place red pepper, garlic, ginger and Serrano pepper in your food processor. Pulse until everything is diced.  

Add pumpkin, almond butter, soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil and puree until smooth. Add in lime juice and 2-3 tablespoons hot water (if needed) just to thin it out a bit. 

Meanwhile, boil pasta according to directions. Then you want to combine pasta and spinach so it wilts. 
A little trick to quickly wilt your spinach is to place it in a colander and then drain pasta over it. 
Place your pasta and wilted spinach back into pot. I like to add in a tablespoon of coconut oil to coat pasta and spinach at this point, otherwise it will end soaking up a lot of the sauce and get too sticky because there isn't very much oil in this sauce to begin with. Plus it adds a nice flavor. Then, toss everything together. 

If you're adding in scallops, quickly sear them in coconut oil for about 2 minutes on each side. For perfect scallops, sear one side completely before flipping; do not stir or move around except for that one flip. Searing your scallops in coconut oil adds extra flavor and a little sweetness that pairs perfectly with this dish.

Divide between 4 bowls, place 3 scallops on top and sprinkle with edamame.  Garnish with diced red bell peppers and green onions, then dive in! 

These wild weathervane scallops were sustainably harvested from the icy waters of Alaska. They are known for their large size and superior quality. Hand-shucked and frozen on board the fishing vessels lock in their flavor and freshness.   

Visit Alaska Weathervane Scallops Facebook page for more yummy recipes.