GARLIC SCAPE PESTO BUCATINI AND SCALLOPS

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO, it’s pretty cool.

If you’ve never cooked scallops, rest assured, that they are super duper easy to make. The second you finish making them you will be wowed by the simplicity.

I love this dish—it’s really easy to make while also looking pretty complex (shhh, it’s not). The flavors are delicious and the texture of the bucatini mixed with the scallops, is nothing short of awesome.

I hadn’t ever used garlic scapes before (and I’m sure you could substitute garlic if you can’t find them) but they made this pesto have an extra little something to it. It isn’t an obvious slap in the face screaming “I USED GARLIC SCAPES!!”, no, it’s more like, “oh, right, I didn’t use regular garlic in there, that garlicky flavor is the scapes, cool!”.

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GARLIC SCAPE PESTO BUCATINI AND SCALLOPS

Yield: 4 Servings

Author: Michelle Williams

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Ingredients

FOR THE PESTO

• Garlic Scapes (6 stalks, cut down into pieces that you can manageably fit into your food processor)
• Fresh Basil (1 cup, packed)
• Pine Nuts (1 cup)
• Parmesan (1 cup, grated or shredded it doesn't matter as long as it's small enough to easily blend)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 cup)
• Lemon (juice from 1/2 a lemon)

FOR THE SCALLOPS

• Sea Scallops (1 pound. cleaned and adductor muscle removed)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (roughly 1 tablespoon)
• Salt (roughly 1/2 teaspoon)
• Pepper (roughly 1/2 teaspoon)
• Vegetable Oil (roughly 2 tablespoons for searing your scallops)

FOR THE PASTA

• Fresh Bucatini (1 pound)
• Unsalted Butter (4 tablespoons)

KITCHEN ITEMS

• Food Processor
• Paper Towel
• Large Frying Pan (1 used a 12 inch non-stick)
• Splash Guard (optional but helpful)
• Plate
• Stock Pot (mine is 5 quart)
• Colander
• Tongs
• Rubber Spatula
• Large Serving Bowl (or you can use your stock pot to mix it all together and plate on individual plates)

Instructions

TO MAKE YOUR PESTO

1. Before you start, fill your stockpot with water and about a handful of salt. Start the process of bringing your water to a boil over high heat (using a lid will make it boil faster). This is for your bucatini. Starting the process of getting your water boiling now will keep your cooking more seamless and you won’t have to start it later when you need it, it will already be boiling for you!
2. In your food processor, combine your garlic scapes, basil, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend until you have a very finely evenly chopped textured pesto.
3. Season your pesto to taste (little by little) with salt and pepper to your liking.

TO MAKE YOUR BUCATINI

1. Follow the instructions on your bucatini’s packaging (mine took 5 minutes). When your water is boiling, go ahead and cook your bucatini. If it hasn’t started boiling yet, feel free to continue on to making your scallops.
2. Strain your your bucatini.

TO COOK YOUR SCALLOPS

1. To begin with, you want your scallops to be extra dry. So if they are at all wet, use a piece of paper towel to dry each one.
2. Season your scallops with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Over high heat, heat your frying pan. You want it super hot for searing your scallops.
4. Pour your vegetable oil into the pan and let it heat too. It should be so hot that when the scallops touch it, they sizzle immediately. If they don’t, the oil isn’t ready yet.
5. Place your scallops in the oil (again, they should sizzle when they touch the pan/oil). Cook until the side touching the pan has a golden color—about 2 minutes. Don’t over crowd your pan. If you need to cook in batches, that is better (I cooked mine in 2 batches).
6. Optional. Use your splash guard to cove your frying pan to keep your oil from splashing out.
7. Using your tongs, flip your scallops and cook their other side until it too is golden—about another 2 minutes.
8. Transfer them to your plate.

TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

1. Over medium-low heat, fully melt your 4 tablespoons of butter in your now empty stock pot (no need to clean it between making your bucatini in it and this part).
2. Add your strained bucatini back into the stock pot and use your rubber spatula to move it around and fully coat it in the melted butter.
3. Pour your pesto over your bucatini and use your rubber spatula to fully and evenly coat your bucatini with it.
4. Transfer your pesto bucatini to your serving bowl. Use your tongs to burrow your scallops evenly around your bucatini.
5. Sprinkle extra parmesan and pine nuts over the center of your dish to finish it off.
6. Serve hot and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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