Let me start by coming clean: I completely eyeballed the measurements on the ingredients for this dish. There was a special on seafood at our local grocery and I was craving something fresh and vibrant, so I bought several pounds of scallops. I had spaghetti noodles in the pantry, and lemons and parmesan cheese in the fridge--I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
INGREDIENTS:
For the pasta (which I recommend you make first)
1 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente (reserve 1 cup of the pasta water)
2/3 c olive oil
2/3 c grated Parmesan
1/3 c chopped fresh basil
salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning
For the scallop sauce:
2 Tbs unsalted butter (I use Kerry Gold grass-fed butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and salt generously. It usually takes only 8 minutes to achieve a perfectly al dente texture, and this has consistently worked excellently for me every single time. Once you've boiled your pasta, make sure to set aside a cup of the pasta water before you drain the noodles out.
In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and grated parmesan cheese. Throw the noodles in and give it a good toss to make sure it's coated well with the lemon and olive oil sauce. Now take the pasta water you set aside and pour in a little at a time into the pasta--making sure it isn't dry but also not putting in too much of the water. You want the pasta to come out silky and creamy but not soupy. I didn't need the entire cup; I wanna say I used up about half or a little less than only. Sprinkle the basil leaves and mix well, and be sure to season with salt and pepper. Set this aside while you cook the scallops. (I usually heat up my oven to 200F for 15min and then turn it off and use it as my dish warmer so the food doesn't get cold while I whip up the other components of my menu/dish--make sure the plates you use are oven and broiler proof!)
Make sure your scallops are patted dry before seasoning them with salt and pepper. Take a large skillet over medium-high heat, drizzle about 2 TBS of vegetable oil (I use avocado oil because it handles high heat better than olive oil can) and sear the scallops for 1 1/2 min to 2 min each side. Once all scallops are cooked, set them on a plate to rest and put it aside while you make the sauce. (If you cook them correctly, they should be medium rare and can be placed in the oven to stay warm with your pasta).
Using the same skillet but this time over medium heat only, melt 2 TBS of unsalted butter, add in the lemon juice and minced garlic and let it cook for about a minute until butter just starts to brown--then turn off the heat.
Plate your pasta first, top with the scallops and drizzle the sauce over the scallops. Garnish with more basil leaves, et voila!
I hope you enjoy this as much as my little family and I did. Thank you for stopping by The Tiny Kitchen. <3
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