Scallops, Pasta, Bacon – What’s Not To Like?

I had taken scallops out for dinner, with no plans per se in mind.  I thought I’d be making my scallops with lentils, bacon and crème fraîche but decided to see if I could do something else.

A little visit on Pinterest got me inspired.  I saw many pictures with pasta and decided to blend that with the one-and-only Pasquale (the singing chef for those old enough to remember him on PBS) carbonara recipe to create something delish!  And, judging by my guests (my family) it was indeed!

I gathered all the ingredients I would need: linguine, bacon, scallops, shallot, cream, wine, salt & pepper, parmigiano reggiano cheese….

Before doing anything else, put a big pot of salted water on to the boil for the pasta (actually, I add the salt once the water is boiling as the salt slows down the boiling)

In the time it takes the pasta to cook, your sauce is ready!

Crush your peppercorns – I use a small pot but I suppose if you really wanted to, you could use a mortar and pestle!

Prepare your ingredients for the sauce.  Technically you don’t have to pre-cook the sauce but, as there are eggs involved, I prefer heating them through and guaranteeing I don’t poison my guests!  If you are feeling courageous, just put the ingredients together in a bowl, whisk together, add to the hot pasta, toss and serve!

In a large frying pan (I use a wok ‘coz it’s so much easier to toss in a big wide pan!), heat the oil and butter and add the bacon and, if you wish, throw in a whole but crushed garlic clove to flavour the oil.  Cook until bacon is nice and crispy.

Once crispy, remove bacon with slotted spoon and throw out the garlic, it’s done its job!

Now is time to cook the scallops in that delicious flavoured oil!  Place scallops side by side without crowding and cook for a good 2 minutes per side.

Once you’ve turned them over, you can take a spoon and spoon over the cooking oil to add even more flavour and finish up the cooking of them. (Makes you look all cheffy when you do!!

Once the scallops are cooked, place them in the warmed oven until serving time.

Add shallots to pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes until softened but not browned

With tongs or a slotted spoon or a spider ladle, whatever you have (I find tongs easier) remove pasta from pasta water and place directly into the shallot mixture.

Toss well to get all that oily goodness onto each noodle and then pour on your warmed wine-cream-cheese sauce and add the reserved bacon pieces

Place in your serving bowl and top with 3-4 scallops, a good pinch of crushed pepper, a sprinkle of parsley and voilà!

Should you wish, you can add some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano on top!

Guaranteed to satisfy that need for rich carbs feeling!

For the full recipe, please see my recipe page! Or click on the link!