Scallops & Pasta Florentine

Photo by dianegrapegrower

While it sounds fancy, this recipe is really easy to prepare. Similar recipes use a cream base, this one included chicken broth and white wine. I'm not sure if there's less calories in that combo, but it definitely was delicious, I used linguine, but other pasta, such as farfelle (bowtie) can be substituted in this recipe. No grape tomatoes in the fridge, so those were eliminated ☹️.

(I neglected to take photos during the prep or serving eating stages. The photo here is from an online contributor to Food.com.)

This recipe was prepared using bay scallops, which we had in the freezer. Next time it will be done with larger sea scallops; these can be cut in half if you prefer a smaller size.

Scallops & Pasta Florentine
Prep & cook time: 30 minutes

• 1 lb scallops (bay or sea) patted dry
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 TBSP olive oil (+ 1 TBSP, add extra if needed)
• 1 shallot minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced fine
• 1/2 C white wine
• 1/2 C chicken broth
• 3 TBSP butter softened
• 1 package baby spinach
• 1-1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/3 pt grape or cherry tomatoes (per person) 
• 1/4 C fresh parsley chopped (substitute lesser amount of dried if not available)
• 1/2 C medium pasta shells per person 
• Parmesan/Romano cheese grated or shaved

1. Season scallops with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in skillet; add scallops and cook about 2 minutes each side until browned. Remove from skillet and keep warm.
3. Heat remaining oil in same skillet, add shallot and garlic, cook until softened (about 1 minute). Stir in wine and cook until reduced by half.
4. Add broth and simmer, then stir in butter and pasta and toss until heated.
5. Add spinach, cherry tomatoes, parsley, lemon zest and toss until spinach wilts. 
6. Add scallops and serve with grated cheese.

How did we enjoy this recipe? Grenville gave it two forks up which is very high praise.