Creamy Baked Scallops

When was the last time you had scallops? For those who don’t love fish, scallops are a nice option because they are so delightfully sweet!

Besides tasting good, scallops are good for us — an excellent source of a very important nutrient for cardiovascular health, vitamin B12. B12 is needed by the body to help maintain low levels of homocysteine, a chemical that can directly damage blood vessel walls.  High levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, heart attack and stroke. It’s also interesting to note that a recent study found that osteoporosis occurred more frequently among women whose vitamin B12 levels were low compared with those who had normal B12 status.

Scallops are also a good source of magnesium and potassium, two other nutrients that provide significant benefits for the cardiovascular system.*

Ingredients

About 40 small scallops or half the number of medium to large ones, enough to fill the bottom of a pie plate, in a single layer
1 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used cherry tomatoes because they’re sweeter!)
4 large basil leaves or dried basil to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
In a glass pie plate, arrange the scallops evenly spaced along the bottom and set aside.
Saute the onions over medium-high heat in the olive oil until the onions start to turn opaque. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring.
Now add the tomato sauce and coconut milk and mix well. Also add the basil and salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture over the scallops in the baking dish.
Cover with the chopped tomatoes.
Place in oven and cook until the tomatoes start to brown and the sauce is bubbling – about 10 minutes for scallops to cook through.
Remove from the oven and serve over cauliflower rice. Cut a head of cauliflower into medium florets and pulse in the food processor until you have “rice.” Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the “rice” and saute adding salt and pepper to taste. You can even add a small amount of butter. Cook on medium heat until it softens a bit, about 2-3 minutes.

*Nutrition information courtesy of whfoods.com
Recipe adapted from civilizedcavemancooking.com