Just looking at the picture of this dinner makes my mouth water and I’m going to have to make it again soon because it was soooo good. Scallops are one of the easiest seafood items to make. I love to cook them using my sous vide machine and then sear them in a super hot skillet. They always come out perfectly cooked that way without having to worry about whether they are fully cooked. There is a link on my favorites page to my sous vide machine in case you are interested in trying one.
You could also just season and pan cook the scallops too. Or if you don’t like scallops, you could easily add a grilled chicken breast or some other protein to this. I seasoned my scallops with salt, pepper and lemon and seared them in garlic oil. Here is a link to my pesto recipe. I used Wegman’s fresh pesto here, which honestly is as good as homemade.
I could eat a million blistered tomatoes and they are the easiest thing to make to add to pasta dishes. You just need to get a package of cherry or grape tomatoes, some oil and salt and pepper and toss those together on a baking sheet and throw under the broiler for a few minutes. I stir them around, then let them blacken a bit on another side. Do this a few times and they get soft and sweet and smoky and very flavorful. I made this meal after coming home late from a doctors appointment and it came together super quick.
Seared Scallops with Pesto Spaghetti and Blistered Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs scallops I used frozen, defrosted
- salt, pepper, true lemon or lemon juice
- oil for searing
- 1/2-1 cup pesto sauce
- 1/2 box spaghetti
- 1 package cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Sprinkle scallops with salt, pepper and true lemon or lemon juice and seal into your sous vide bag if using. Heat water to 130 and sous vide for 25 minutes. Heat some oil to very high heat in a skillet. Dry scallops and sear on each side briefly until well browned. Do not over cook.
- If pan cooking, season as above and heat pan with oil to very hot. Add scallops and sear as above then reduce heat to medium low and cook until they reach 130 in the center and are firm but not overcooked.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain and mix with pesto sauce.
- Heat the broiler and mix the tomatoes, oil, salt and pepper well. Broil close to the top of the oven for a few minutes. Shake the pan and then broil some more until there are large black spots on the tomatoes and they have softened up.
- Serve the scallops over the pesto pasta topped with tomatoes and some parmesan if you like. yum!