Pan Seared Basil/Thyme Scallops with Basil Pasta

Tonight’s meal is a variation on my classic basil pasta dish. This has evolved enough to be its own animal, but still very simple and incredibly satisfying. This is my Pan Seared Sea Scallops on a Bed of Basil/Olives/Sun Dried Tomatoes with a side of peas.

Prep work involves dicing up some sun dried tomatoes, mincing up some kalamata olives, chopping up some feta and fine shredding some Parmesan. If you have fresh basil, chop up some of that too. Tonight I just wanted to crank out dinner, so I used dry basil. My original was always dry, but of course fresh is better. I actually like a mix of the two.

Get some water boiling with a little olive oil. Meanwhile, heat up your cast iron skillet and toss in four or five cloves of garlic and a handful of fresh thyme springs with a couple/few tablespoons of butter.

With the water boiling, toss in some angel hair pasta and throw you sea scallops into the medium-high skillet. Boil the pasta to the required time (4-6 minutes) and meanwhile, turn the scallops when they are browned. At this point bathe the scallops with the garlic/butter/thyme juice and finish the second side browning. Set aside.

Drain the pasta. Put in a tablespoon of butter and mix. Add minced garlic to taste. Add basil and stir. Add the olives and the sun dried tomatoes and stir. Add half the fine grated parm and stir.

Plate the pasta. Top with the remaining parm, the feta and the scallops.

Add some heated petite peas to the side (I microwave a cup of frozen with butter, garlic powder and black pepper for about 2 minutes while the water is boiling for the pasta).

I have been evolving this dish for about 30 years. I serve it with salmon as well as the scallops, and shrimp as well. It is easy, and tasty and usually involves things I always have in my pantry and fridge.