Searing scallops is quick, easy, and yields a restaurant-worthy dish when tossed with some fresh pasta.
Ingredients:
1 lb scallops
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T butter
1 box fresh pasta (preferably a long noodle)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pint Little Guys, rougly chopped
1/4 cup cream cheese or chevre
freshly grated gouda, to taste
Dab your scallops gently with a towel, then sprinkle with salt and plenty of fresh black pepper.
Add butter to a skillet over medium heat.
Set a deep pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
When the butter has melted, place the scallops seasoned side down in the pan and let them cook for at least 2 minutes.
Season the uncooked side of the scallops, loosen gently and flip; if they are reluctant to loosen from the pan, let them cook undisturbed for a little while longer.
Cook the flipped scallops for another 2 minutes, then remove from the pan.
Meanwhile, toss your fresh pasta into the boiling water.
Add the cherry tomatoes and garlic to the hot pan and deglaze - scrape up all those tasty charred bits!
While the tomatoes cook, drain the pasta, and reserve some of the pasta cooking water.
When the tomatoes have broken down, add the cream cheese or chevre and, using a little pasta cooking water, smooth into a sauce.
Introduce the pasta to the pan and mix, gently. Add more pasta water if needed, until you have a loose, glossy sauce.
Taste and season (a little glug of white balsamic might be just the thing here), then add back in the scallops, sprinkle with plenty of grated gouda and serve.
