It was New Years Eve and I wanted something extra special for dinner since we were staying in, staying warm and completely avoiding the chaos of Times Square. Thankfully, the market had nice big sea scallops in and they were simply perfect. Many people think that a yummy dish like this HAS to be difficult – but you know me. I like to make it quick, easy and with as few pots and pans as possible. The kicker? The pasta took 12 minutes to cook, and everything was done in 15 minutes. YEAH! 15 MINUTES. So here it is.
Ingredients: (for 2 people)
For the Scallops
8 large Sea Scallops
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
For the Pasta with Spinach
1/4 lb. Fettuccini
1 tbsn Salt
2 tbsp Butter
1 pkg Spinach
1/8 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions seasoning the water with a tablespoon of salt. While the water is coming to a boil, rinse the scallops and remove the “foot” which is a bit of side tissue that is tougher than the rest of the scallop (sometimes it’s already removed by the market). Pat dry the scallops and place back on a plate with space in between and place back in refrigerator until you are ready to cook them (this helps keep them nice and dry which helps get a nice golden crust when searing).
When there is just a few minutes left on the pasta, heat a non-stick skillet to medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (do not use olive oil here as you need the high heat smoke point of the vegetable oil). Strain the pasta and reduce that burner to medium/low heat. Put 2 tablespoons of butter into the bottom of the pasta pan with spinach, lightly salt, stir and cover. Next take the scallops out of the refrigerator (the pan should be nice and hot and the butter bubbling now), lightly season each scallop with salt and pepper and place into the pan for about 2 minutes to get a good sear. Do not be tempted to peak, you want a nice crust to form. After two minutes, turn the scallops over and cover to cook the rest of the way. Give the spinach a stir and add the pasta back into that pot and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Once the scallops have cooked for an additional 2 minutes, plate the pasta and spinach and place 4 cooked scallops on top and serve.
Literally, 20 minutes to a delicious and very quick and easy meal.
Happy New Year!
