Scallops & Angel Hair Pasta

This recipe came from a friend of mine, who originally made it with langoustines. Since I am allergic, I substituted bay scallops, and it turned out just fine. You could also substitute shrimp for the langoustines. The overall dish is very light, and each ingredient can really be tasted on its own. The onions get nice and sweet, the pancetta has a fabulous crisp to it, and the white wine brings it all together.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb angel hair pasta
• salt
• 3oz pancetta, chopped (you could also substitute bacon)
• 1/2 medium red onion, peeled, cut in half, and thinly sliced
• 1T minced garlic (I used about 6 cloves, but we are huge garlic lovers)
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob
  
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
  
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 12oz langoustines, scallops, shrimp, etc.
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 small tomato, chopped
  
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

1. In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. To the oil in the pan, add the onions and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds, then add the corn and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine, 3/4tsp salt, red pepper and langoustines and cook, stirring, until shellfish are full cooked (my scallops took about 3-4 minutes). Add the green onion and chopped tomato, stirring to combine. Serve over angel hair pasta.

Scallop Scampi

This is a super easy way to cook bay scallops that's absolutely delicious! I made a few changes to the original recipe, which can be found on AllRecipes. We purchased a 4-pack of small bottles of wine, so you don't end up with a full bottle open in the fridge. I'd definitely recommend that option if you aren't a big white wine drinker and don't normally have a bottle laying around. The sauce was a little watery, so we removed the scallops and then boiled it down for about 5 minutes. That seemed to work perfectly.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 pound bay scallops
• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large skillet, melt margarine over medium heat and saute garlic and onion until translucent. Add wine, salt, ground black pepper and 1/4 cup cheese.
   
2. Add chicken broth and boil on medium-high for 5 minutes until reduced. Add scallops, cooking 2-3 minutes until tender. If sauce is still watery, remove scallops and boil broth an additional 5 minutes until reduced more.
   
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4. Reduce heat for scallop mixture and add parsley; place sauce on top of linguine. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; serve.

Soy Citrus Scallops

This is a delicious scallop recipe that's incredibly easy and quick to make. The original recipe is from Cooking Light's April 2009 issue. We found the scallops to be quite tender, a little bit sweet, and just a touch spicy. Perfect! I paired it with a side salad, though next time I'll certainly try the veggie side dish that CL recommends.

We substituted Bay Scallops for the Sea Scallops, so I didn't even attempt to sear them. From the Cooking Light website, many people suggest not marinating the scallops first, but instead searing them first, cooking down the marinade liquid, and adding the scallops back at the end. For me, I marinated my bay scallops, then cooked them 80% of the way, boiled down the sauce, and added them back in. They came out perfectly!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee) (I just used hot sauce and 2 cloves of chopped garlic)
  
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound large sea scallops
• 4 cups hot cooked soba (about 6 ounces uncooked buckwheat noodles) (I used Ramen noodles instead)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions

1. Combine first 6 ingredients and 1 teaspoon oil in a shallow baking dish; add scallops to dish in a single layer. Marinate 4 minutes on each side.

2. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove scallops from dish, reserving marinade. Add scallops to pan; sauté 1 minute on each side or until almost done. Remove scallops from pan; keep warm. Place remaining marinade in pan; bring to a boil. Return scallops to pan; cook 1 minute. Toss noodles with salt and green onions. Place 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 3 scallops, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Garlic Scallop Broil with Feta

Hubby and I love seafood, especially scallops. I used to only make garlic scallops and linguine, but now I'm branching out and trying new recipes. These were really easy to make and the scallops were nice and tender on the inside. The light salad on the side makes this meal great for Summer time because it's light and flavorful, without leaving you feeling disgustingly full.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 8 sea scallops
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet, then add garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Add tomato paste, chicken broth and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.

3. Add scallops and simmer until just opaque in the center, about 3 min per side. Stir in scallions and parsley.

4. Top each scallop with feta. Broil until cheese is lightly browned and melted, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve with vegetable salad of chopped cucumber, tomato, diced onion, mozzarella cheese and scallions. Toss with balsamic vinaigrette and fresh pepper.

Serves 4.