The other day I didn’t have the right ingredients in the fridge to make my usual Malaysian dishes. No eggs, either, so I couldn’t even make a simple fried rice without leaving out what I think is a key ingredient. Digging through the freezer I found a bunch of seafood I could use, and so I felt inspired to make scallop and shrimp pasta.
A quick web search led me to a simple and highly rated recipe by Christina’s Cucina. Her mission apparently is to preserve authentic Italian dishes, and looking through the ingredients list for the sauce – olive oil, parsley, garlic, wine, salt and pepper – I definitely believed in her recipe’s authenticity.
Of course, I had to make some adjustments to halal-ify the dish and also work with whatever I had on hand. In place of the white wine I used water mixed with some chicken stock powder, and a splash of lime juice to mimic the acidity typically contributed by the wine. I also used cilantro instead of parsley, because that was what I had in the fridge. Being Southeast Asian, I also think cilantro goes very well with seafood anyway. The dear hubby also likes a bit of heat in his pasta, so I added chili flakes to the dish.
I loved how this pasta turned out. For all the olive oil and butter in it, the flavor is clean and refreshing and not greasy at all. The seafood flavor really shines through and is the real highlight of the dish. An easy meal to make even on busy weeknights, you’ll never get enough of it. Try it!
P/s: I’m still not as skilled at getting a good sear on the scallops, will update this post if/when I get the right technique down.
Step by Step
First, prepare the scallops. Dissolve the salt in the water to make a brine. Soak the scallops in the brine for 10 minutes. Drain completely, and arrange in a single layer on a tray lined with about five layers of paper towels. Cover completely with another stack of paper towels and let dry, 15 minutes.
Next, boil the pasta. In a large pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the salt, return the water to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook until al dente according to package instructions. When the pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, and drain the pasta in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a large skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. When the pan is very hot, add the scallops and let sear, undisturbed, about 1 ½ minutes.
Add the shrimp, garlic, cilantro, and chili flakes to the pan and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes.
Flip all the seafood over and continue cooking, another 1 ½ minutes.
Add the water, chicken stock powder and lime juice and stir to combine, scraping off the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Turn down the heat to medium low, and add the salt, black pepper, and butter. Stir until butter is melted.
Add the cooked pasta, and toss until thoroughly coated and combined.
Add the reserved pasta water, and toss to incorporate. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve immediately.
Scallops and Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
For the scallops
- 500 grams scallops
- 2 cups water
- 2 ½ tablespoons fine salt
For cooking the pasta
- 4 liters water
- 2 tablespoons salt ½ tablespoon per liter water
- 400 grams spaghetti
For the pasta sauce
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 12 large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped, see Note 1
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ teaspoon chicken stock powder
- 1 teaspoon lime juice squeezed from 1 lime wedge, see Note 2
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- First, prepare the scallops. Dissolve the salt in the water to make a brine. Soak the scallops in the brine for 10 minutes. Drain completely, and arrange in a single layer on a tray lined with about five layers of paper towels. Cover completely with another stack of paper towels and let dry, 15 minutes.
- Next, boil the pasta. In a large pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the salt, return the water to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook until al dente according to package instructions. When the pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, and drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a large skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. When the pan is very hot, add the scallops and let sear, undisturbed, about 1 ½ minutes.
- Add the shrimp, garlic, cilantro, and chili flakes to the pan and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes.
- Flip all the seafood over and continue cooking, another 1 ½ minutes.
- Add the water, chicken stock powder and lime juice and stir to combine, scraping off the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Turn down the heat to medium low, and add the salt, black pepper, and butter. Stir until butter is melted.
- Add the cooked pasta, and toss until thoroughly coated and combined.
- Add the reserved pasta water, and toss to incorporate. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I used cilantro because I think it pairs very well with seafood, but this is simply a personal preference. Use Italian parsley for a more authentic pasta, or if cilantro is not your thing.
- An authentic Italian pasta dish typically uses wine in the sauce. Chicken or vegetable stock is a decent, easily accessible non-alcoholic substitute, however it lacks the acidity imparted by wine. The addition of lime juice is to make up for this missing acidity. You may also use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice if you like.
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