Scallops with spaghetti pan-sauce

A few Friday nights ago, Mitcher and I were planning to go out to dinner after work to kind of celebrate the end of the week. But sometimes after a long week, the thought of going out got less and less appealing.

So, we decided to stay in, and I let myself imagine my most comforting meal, and I knew instantly that it would involve pasta and a homemade buttery pan sauce. Then, the entire picture came together once I imagined seared scallops on top. So I got started on creating my impromptu meal. I decided to write down the recipe as I went so I could share! Read on to see my recipe.

Scallops with spaghetti pan-sauce

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bacon, chopped
• 6-8 oz bucatini or spaghetti
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C heavy cream
• 1/4 C parmesan cheese
• 1-2 T butter
• 1/2-1 t flour
• S&P, to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• Chopped chives, for garnish
• 1/2 lb scallops (approximately 8 medium scallops)

Note: This dish serves 2-3 people.

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon slices over medium heat until crisp; drain on a paper towel. Reserve excess bacon grease in a measuring cup or bowl.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season heavily with salt. Cook the bucatini 1-2 minutes less than the package calls for. Reserve 1 C of the pasta water; this will be used in the pan sauce. Drain pasta and set aside.
3. Add back in 1-2 T of the reserved bacon grease into skillet heat pan to medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, sauté shallots for 1 minute. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add 1 T butter and stir until melted and starting to bubble.
4. To the skillet, add 1/2 C of reserved pasta water; whisk until starting to thicken. If sauce does not thicken after a few minutes, add a few pinches of flour (approximately 1/2 t) and whisk vigorously until well-combined and the sauce starts to thicken.
5. Add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and whisk until warm and the cheese has melted. If sauce is too thick, add more reserved pasta water as necessary. If sauce is too thin, add another pinch of flour. You want the consistency to be silky and glossy but not too thick.
6. At this point, taste the pasta pan sauce and season with salt to taste. Add pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste.
7. Once pan sauce is seasoned to your liking, add in the cooked pasta and the cooked bacon. Toss with pan sauce to combine and allow to heat up for 1-2 minutes together.
8. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-4 T of reserved bacon grease to skillet (note: add equal parts olive oil and butter if no bacon grease). Once pan is very hot and oil is starting to shimmer, lightly season scallops with salt and place on hot skillet, being sure not to crowd them in the pan. Allow scallops to cook 2-3 minutes on the first side – you should have a golden brown crust. Flip and cook for 1 minute on other side.
9. To serve, pile pasta high in a low bowl, top with scallops, and, and sprinkle with chopped chives.

The finished product: The most cozy, comforting Friday night meal

This meal is the epitome of cozy. Pasta is not something I cook too terribly often, so when I do have it, it’s always a treat. And I rarely cook scallops at home, just because of the price of scallops, so they are definitely a treat.

This dish actually comes together incredibly fast, within 20 minutes start to finish. The pan sauce itself takes mere minutes to throw together. The key to a good pan sauce is that reserved pasta water. There is something about that salty, starchy water that makes the pasta sauce absolutely magical. Even without flour, the pasta sauce thickens in just a few minutes over the heat. And assuming you’ve cooked some shallots and/or garlic, you’ll have a really delicious, flavorful sauce on your hands. It will emulsify beautifully and really cling to the pasta itself.

Pan sauce is not hard to make, but practice makes perfect. You can do many variations – perhaps you want to throw in some butter, as opposed to bacon grease and parmesan cheese. Perhaps you want to add fresh herbs right to the pan for some earthly flavors. The options are endless!

The key to good scallops is definitely the heat. When you cook scallops, you want to seriously question whether the pan is too hot. Because they get tough if over-cooked, it’s imperative that you cook the scallops in only a few minutes. If your pan is not hot enough, you won’t get a good, crispy sear before having to flip, and then you will sacrifice texture and flavor.

Our Friday night home with pan-sauce pasta, scallops, a green salad, and a nice bottle of wine, is my idea of a wonderful night in.