Scallops and Bacon Linguine
An indulgent pasta dish of sweet delicate scallops and smokey crunchy bacon in a luscious cream sauce with fresh chopped parsley and grated parmesan.
Equipment
- 1 large pan
- 1 Large Pot
Ingredients
- 300 g linguine pasta
- 300 g sliced bacon cut to form 2cm squares
- 12 scallops
- 6-7 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 garlic clove minced (optional)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 200 ml cooking cream
- 1/2 cups cooking water from pasta
- grated parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the bacon: fry it over medium heat with smashed garlic cloves until browned and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain excess oil.
- Wipe the pan off but reserve about 1 tbsp of fat for frying the scallops later.
- Boil the pasta one minute short of the cooking time. Reserve 1/2 cups cooking water.
- Remove the muscle and thoroughly wash the scallops. Pat dry.
- While the pasta is cooking, sear the scallops in bacon fat over medium-high heat for a minute on each side.
- Return the bacon and garlic to the pan, lower the heat, add the cream and stir to combine. Add minced garlic, if using. Season with salt.
- Add half the parsley and the cooked pasta, and cook, stirring, for 30-40 seconds. Check for consistency (the pasta should not be dry) and add cooking water if needed.
- Sprinkle with parmesan, the remaining parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- Fry scallops over high heat for only a minute on each side so that they turn golden but don't overcook. If they do, they can become chewy.
- Reserving cooking water is important: it helps to keep the pasta moist but doesn't thin the sauce out because of the starch it contains.