Scallop Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach in a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
Scallop Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach in a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is an impressive, restaurant-quality meal that you can easily make at home! It takes only 30 minutes and requires simple ingredients and minimal prep. The scallops are pan-seared until golden brown crust forms and have a perfect tender and moist texture.
CourseMain Course
CuisineAmerican, Italian, Mediterranean
Keywordscallop pasta
Prep Time10minutes minutes
Cook Time20minutes minutes
Total Time30minutes minutes
Servings4 people
Ingredients
Pasta
12 oz pasta fettuccine or other long pasta
Scallops
1.5 lb scallops
2 tablespoons cooking oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Veggies and sauce
5 cloves garlic minced
10 oz cherry tomatoes (red and yellow), halved
5 oz fresh spinach
⅓ cup kalamata olives sliced
¼ cup green olives sliced
2 tablespoons salted butter
½ whole lemon
3 tablespoons capers drained, divided
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
Cook pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain.
Proceed with the rest of the recipe while you wait for the water to boil and while the pasta cooks.
How to sear scallops
If using frozen scallops, make sure the scallops are thawed completely. Blot each scallop with paper towels to remove extra water. It’s best to sear scallops after they’ve been out of the fridge for 30 minutes (to bring them closer to room temperature).
Season scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large 12-inch skillet on high heat until it shimmers without smoking.
Add scallops without overcrowding the pan.
Sear on one side for about 3 or 4 minutes until a golden crust forms on the bottom of the scallops. Don’t move the scallops around the pan.
Flip the scallops to the other side and cook for 2 or 3 more minutes.
Remove from heat and transfer the scallops to the plate immediately. Don’t allow the scallops to rest in the hot skillet, off heat. That will make them steam and lose their crust.
Make the sauce and assemble
To the same, now empty, skillet add minced garlic, half of the cherry tomatoes (saving the other half of tomatoes for later), and 1 tablespoon of capers. Cook on medium heat, stirring, for 4 minutes.
Add fresh spinach, and cook for a couple of minutes on medium heat until spinach wilts.
Add the remaining half of the tomatoes.
Add sliced olives.
Add cooked drained pasta and butter.
Squeeze lemon juice over pasta and stir.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Top with cooked scallops. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of capers over the scallop pasta. Top with fresh thyme. Season with freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.