ucchini Noodles with Scallops &

Bacon {AIP}
SEPTEMBER 22, 2013 BY: MEATIFIED 24 COMMENTS

There have been far too many treats around my house

lately. Which was fun for a while but once the novelty wore
off, I found myself craving simpler, savory things. When I
first started eating Paleo I didn’t allow myself to do “Paleo”
treats. As someone who used to bake CONSTANTLY, I
didn’t want to fall into the trap of just replacing one type of
treat with another. So it was fun to dabble in sweet things
once again, but after a while it became clear that my tastes
and palate have changed a LOT since those days. Most of
the time, what I genuinely want is healthy, nutritious food.
Who would have thought?! So these zucchini noodles really
hit the spot: delicious fresh vegetables topped with sweet
scallops, salty bacon and finished with the tang of fresh
lemon. Perfect.
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I don’t tend to cook scallops very often because they are

usually very expensive. I also used to find them terribly
intimidating because I was terrified of over cooking them –
perhaps BECAUSE they’re usually so expensive! For both
of those reasons, I wouldn’t normally buy these super teeny
tiny “petite” scallops. But when I found these wild caught
mini scallops on sale for half price, I figured now was the
time to go for it! And you know what? You really don’t need
to be intimidated at all!

The trick to cooking these isn’t complicated. You just need

to make sure that they are really DRY when you add them
to the pan to sear them. Make sure the pan is as hot as you
can manage without the bacon fat beginning to smoke, then
drop them into the pan, shaking it until they are all flat side
down. You’ll be tempted to move them around while they
cook, but don’t! Leave them for about 2 minutes before
taking a peek at one of them. If that test scallop is lightly
browned, you can flip them over and sear the second side
for about another 1 – 2 minutes. Remove them from the pan
and they’re done!

I don’t know about you, but when I see these miniature

scallops, I think of pasta. I swapped my old foodie flame for
zucchini noodles, made with my trusty spiralizer! If you
haven’t bought one yet, I really recommend you do. They
make food fun and open up even more super simple grain
free recipe options. Seriously, you should get one! In this
zucchini noodle dish, the scallops are so sweet that they
pair beautifully with the natural saltiness of bacon, so I kept
things really simple. The best thing about these zucchini
noodles is that you don’t need to make a separate sauce.
By cooking them in bacon fat and then adding the squeeze
of fresh lemon juice, they have all the flavor they need. So
don’t be tempted to leave out the lemon juice – it really
makes the dish!

If you’re making this for the first time, I highly recommend

you set out everything you need at the beginning. Chop
your green onions, make your zucchini noodles and make
sure you’ve got somewhere to keep two hot pans safely on
the countertop at the same time. It’ll make things so much
easier! And you’ll still have dinner on the table in about a
half an hour. Plus, this tastes even better the next day!

This recipe was shared at the Paleo AIP Recipe

Roundtable by Phoenix Helix – go check it out!

Zucchini Print

Noodles with Scallops &

Bacon
Total Time: 30 minutes Yield: 4 servings

Zucchini noodles tossed in a simple lemon sauce

with seared petite scallops, bacon & green onions.
Quick, simple & delicious!

Ingredients

1 lb petite bay scallops, cleaned & rinsed

6 slices sugar free bacon
8 medium zucchini
2 tsp garlic powder
 6 green onions, sliced with green tops
reserved for garnish
Squeeze fresh lemon juice
Sea salt & fresh black pepper to taste.

Instructions

1. Lay the cleaned scallops on a clean dish towel

or paper towel to dry. Fold the clean towel over
the scallops or lay an extra sheet of paper towel
on top. Press gently to absorb excess moisture;
set aside, still covered.
2. In a large flat bottomed pan, cook the bacon
until crisp.
3. While the bacon is cooking, use a vegetable
spiralizer or julienne peeler to make your
zucchini noodles. Save the noodles for later.
4. When the bacon is cooked, remove from the
pan and set it aside.
5. Pour off most of the excess bacon fat and save
for later, leaving behind just enough to coat the
pan lightly. Save the pan to cook the scallops
later.
6. In a large, high sided pan, add about 2 tsp of
the reserved bacon fat. Bring to medium high
heat and add the zucchini noodles and garlic
powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Saute the zucchini noodles until just softened,
about 3 - 5 minutes. While the noodles are
cooking, chop the cooked reserved bacon into
pieces.
8. Remove the noodles from the heat and toss
them with 2/3 of the bacon, the white parts of
the chopped green onions and a squeeze of
lemon juice. Set to one side.
9. Return the flat bottomed pan to the stove and
bring to medium high heat. Add the dried
 scallops to the pan; they should sizzle straight
away, but the bacon fat should not be so hot it
is smoking.
10. Sear the scallops until golden brown on the
bottom, about 2 minutes. Toss or flip the
scallops and sear the other side for 1 - 2
minutes, until golden.
11. Remove the scallops from the heat and toss
them in with the noodles.
12. Divide the noodles between plates and garnish
with the remaining bacon pieces and green
onions.