Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops

     I finally did it, tackled my fear of cooking scallops. Watching "Hells Kitchen" for several seasons now and seeing Gordon Ramsay throw countless hysterics over scallops, I stayed away. The two times in my life I did try were a complete disaster of dry, rubbery scallops. My problem was I always over cooked them for fear of poisoning someone. Time to take up the challenge. I bought some very large beautiful scallops, looked through countless videos on YouTube and started my cooking adventure.

     I decided on Pasta Carbonara to pair with my scallops. This is such a quick and simple recipe with  gourmet flavour, an all-time favourite of mine. This entire dish can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes; a gourmet meal that you would be proud to serve to company!

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 Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops

by Laureen King from Art and the Kitchen

Prep Time 10-15 mins.     Cook time: 15-20 mins    Serves: 4

Ingredients for Scallops:

• 12-16 large scallops (3-4 per person)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Salt & Pepper

Ingredients for Carbonara:

• 8 slices of thick cut bacon diced (I try to find bacon with less fat, or cut away excess fat)
• 1 shallot finely sliced
• 1 clove garlic (leave whole)
• 4 green onions
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano grated
• fresh ground pepper
• pasta of your choice (I used Linguine, but most recipes use Spaghetti)

Directions:

*This recipe tastes best served VERY fresh, so don't let it sit or Scallops and Pasta dry out quickly . Have ALL your ingredients and pots ready to go to make easy work of this.

*Start water boiling for pasta.
*Oven on warm

Pots required: large pot for cooking pasta, skillet for frying bacon, garlic and shallots, skillet for pan searing scallops, large bowl for combining pasta and sauce.

Perfect Pan Seared Scallops

1. Blot scallops with paper towel to remove any water. Salt and pepper.
2. Heat large skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
3. Make sure skillet is hot before adding scallops but not smoking.
4. Add scallops leaving plenty of space between. Overcrowding the pan will drop the pan temperature and cause scallops to steam rather than sear. (may have to do in batches)
5. Sear for about 2-4 minutes or when bottom is a nice golden brown. Don't move them around in the pan or you will prevent them from forming that nice brown crust. After a couple of minutes have peek under to see if golden brown.
6. Turn  to sear other side. (about 1-3 more minutes)
7. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to pan now.
8. Spoon the melted butter over the scallops as the other side finishes cooking.
9. Transfer to paper towel covered plate. 
10. Keep warm in oven.

Pasta Carbonara

1. Start cooking pasta.
2. In small bowl mix together cream, egg yolks and 3/4 of cheese.
3. In large skillet cook bacon until crisp, add shallots and 1/2 green onions.
4. Smash down garlic clove a bit, add to bacon. (remove prior to adding pasta)
5. When pasta is finished cooking, drain well, then add to skillet of bacon.
6. Toss well, then transfer to large bowl.
7. Add cream mixture to pasta and combined well. Make sure pasta is still hot in order to cook the eggs and melt the cheese. 

Arrange pasta on plate, top with seared scallops, add some fresh ground pepper, grated parmesan, and green onions.

ENJOY A MEAL THAT WILL IMPRESS YOUR GUESTS!

Step by Step Pictures

Ingredients required + Scallops

Brown bacon, shallot, green onion and garlic

Cream, parmesan, egg yolks

Stirring cooked pasta into bacon mix.

Tossing hot pasta with cream, cheese, egg mixture

Scallops

Pat dry, sear until golden brown in hot olive oil, turn, add butter, spoon over top as other side cooks.