Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
12 oz pasta fettuccine or other long pasta
1.5 lb scallops
2 tablespoons cooking oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cloves garlic minced
10 oz cherry tomatoes (red and yellow), halved
5 oz fresh spinach
1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced
1/4 cup green olives sliced
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 whole lemon
3 tablespoons capers drained, divided
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain.
- Season scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large 12-inch skillet on high heat until it shimmers without smoking.
- Add scallops without overcrowding the pan.
- Sear on one side for about 3 or 4 minutes until a golden crust forms on the bottom of the scallops. Don’t move the scallops around the pan.
- Flip the scallops to the other side and cook for 2 or 3 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer the scallops to the plate immediately. Don’t allow the scallops to rest in the hot skillet, off heat. That will make them steam and lose their crust.
- To the same, now empty, skillet add minced garlic, half of the cherry tomatoes (saving the other half of tomatoes for later), and 1 tablespoon of capers.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring, for 4 minutes.
- Add fresh spinach, and cook for a couple of minutes on medium heat until spinach wilts.
- Add the remaining half of the tomatoes and the olives.
- Add cooked drained pasta and butter.
- Squeeze lemon juice over pasta and stir.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Top with cooked scallops.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of capers over the scallop pasta.
- Top with fresh thyme.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.