It’s the Holiday season! But that doesn’t mean that salads are out of the picture. A great way to bridge the gap between rich heavy fare that is so prevalent this time of year is to prepare a salad like the one we are sharing below. Shake up a weeknight or even a holiday party! This salad is full of luscious soft baby greens, with bright colored veggies that are topped with warm scallops and just a sprinkle of prosciutto. Plus, all that goodness is flavored with the lemony taste of thyme!

Not only is thyme a delicious ingredient in this salad, it’s a nutritious smart choice, too. Thyme has terpenoids which are recognized for their cancer preventive properties. Rosmarinic and ursolic acids are major terpenoids in thyme that possess anti-cancer properties. Thyme contains an essential oil that is rich in thymol, a powerful antiseptic, antibacterial, and a strong antioxidant.

Warm Scallop Salad

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 1 Tsp, divided

2 TB Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

1 TB Thyme Leaves + more for garnish

½ Tsp Honey

½ Tsp each Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

12 Cups Baby Lettuces

8 oz. Package Frozen Baby Peas – defrosted

2 Carrots, Julienned or Shredded

¼ Small Red Onion, very thinly sliced

4 Thin Slices Prosciutto, chopped

18 Large Dry Scallops

Step One Make the salad dressing by placing ¼ Cup Oil, rice vinegar, Dijon, thyme, honey and salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk together. Add the lettuce, peas, carrots and onions to the bowl and toss with the dressing.

Step Two Sauté the prosciutto in the remaining 1 Tsp oil until crispy and browned. Remove the prosciutto from the pan and sauté the scallops in the pan. (Don’t overcook! Depending on their size, scallops will only take about 1 minute per side.)

Step Three Divide the greens between six bowls. Top each bowl with 3 scallops and sprinkle with the crispy prosciutto and additional thyme if desired.