Scallop Tagliatelle
Hello again friends! I am celebrating National Seafood Month once again because when you love seafood and can easily access MSC certified sustainable products, why the heck not?!
I am so excited to share this recipe with you, mostly because these scallops flew in all the way from Nova Scotia to my house in Toronto for this dish. Yes, you read that right. And no I don’t have any cool connections. I just ordered them online from a company called Clearwater. They actually have the widest selection of MSC-certified species of any shellfish harvester worldwide and can ship right to your door. So you can order seafood that is not only good for you, but good for the oceans too.
Since moving into our new house we’ve been making a conscious effort to eat at home more. (Condo life involved a lot of take out or dining out). I know, I know…surprising that I don’t spend all my spare time in the kitchen! There is something about having your own space that makes you want to spend more time there – so it’s been enjoyable making this shift.
That being said we love any opportunity to indulge in a unique culinary experience so flying in scallops from Nova Scotia was the perfect way to elevate this pasta for date night. And I will definitely be flying in their MSC certified sustainable lobster next! How impressive would that be at a dinner party?!
Like Chilean Sea Bass, scallops are really delicate and require the perfect amount of cooking so they don’t turn into rubber. So this was definitely a little out of my comfort zone but if you get the timing right you’ll be just as impressed as I was with myself for this scallop tagliatelle.
Ingredients for Scallop Tagliatelle
- 1/2 kg of MSC certified sustainable Clearwater Sea Scallops
- Handful of roughly chopped Italian parsley
- Juice of half a lemon
- Tagliatelle pasta – enough for 4 portions
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Butter
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Now, typically you need to remove any muscle on the side on the scallops but another benefit of Clearwater scallops is that they were ready to cook once thawed.
How to Make Scallop Tagliatelle
Boil water for pasta. In a large saucepan, on medium heat, saute tomatoes in olive oil. You want the skin to start browning and breaking. Put the pasta in your boiling water to cook until al dente. Next you’ll make the scallops.
They take about 3 minutes per side. I recommend cooking them in two or three batches so that you can give them the love and attention they need. Just have a plate nearby to put the scallops once cooked. When you are ready, put a tablespoon of butter per batch in the same saucepan as the tomatoes. turn up the heat and let it melt. You want a piping hot pan to sear the scallops. Place your first batch in the pan. Flip after three minutes. Remove from pan after another three minutes. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. Repeat for the next couple of batches, continuing to add butter and deglaze with white wine until all scallops are cooked.
When you are on the last batch, add garlic to the pan and bring all the scallops back into the pan. Add the cooked pasta, the rest of the wine, lemon juice, roughly chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve right away!
Between the Chilean Sea Bass and this Scallop Tagliatelle, I hope you have more than enough inspiration and guidance to step outside of your comfort zone to try a new sustainable seafood in your kitchen this month! Who’s ready for the challenge?
*This post was done in partnership with the Marine Stewardship Council, however the opinions are 100% my own.