Let's Talk Shop by Danae DeShazer

Fish Friday is my favorite day of the week.

It's the day of the week at Let's Talk Shop that we get to celebrate a great reason why we live in Florida: great seafood.

Delectable eats don't have to leave you in the kitchen for hours on end. Seafood, like shrimp and scallops only take minutes (literally) to cook, and can be a gourmet addition to salads, pastas, and sandwiches.

With scallops, I have to admit I'm just getting to know the difference between bay, sea, and diver (It has to do with my upbringing, I promise). Lucky for us, Lotsa Lobster carries fresh Sea Scallops straight from Maine. So, how can you resist pan-searing them and tossing them in this mouth-watering linguine dish? That's right. It's irresistable.

Linguine with Scallops, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts

Serves 4 | Fast and Easy | adapted from Food & Wine

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup pine nuts
1 box (16 oz) linguine
6 tablespoons of the best EVOO you can afford (extra virgin olive oil)
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
Salt
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Scant 1/2 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oven to 350°. Toast the pine nuts in the oven until golden brown, about 8 minutes.

2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water (1 tsp of table salt or 2 tsp of kosher salt – enough to give the pasta some great flavor!), and cook the linguine using the directions on the box (approx. 12 minutes). Drain the pasta.

Scallop tip: Before you begin cooking, you really want to pat your seafood very, very dry. This is something you can’t miss! Use a couple of pieces of paper towel and really make sure that you blot all the moisture away. This is important because seafood cooks really quickly. Any moisture on the seafood will end up steaming the seafood instead of pan-frying it.

3. While your pasta is boiling, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat until very hot. Season the scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Lay the scallops in the pan (do not let them touch!) and sear until brown on the bottom, 1 1/2 minutes. Don’t touch them, move them, squish them, nothing! This is essential for a good sear. Turn and sear until brown on the other side, 1 1/2 minutes longer. Remove the scallops immediately and cut them into quarters.

4. In the same pan, heat the remaining 5 tablespoons oil over moderate heat. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the red-pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

5. Toss with the pasta, scallops, pine nuts, and the remaining 4 tablespoons of parsley.

Cheers!

Pick up your fresh Maine scallops from Lotsa Lobster New England Seafood Market at 8780 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, FL. Call ahead at (941) 918-CLAW

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