By Christie Vanover | Published March 19, 2011 | Last Updated December 28, 2022
One of my favorite seafood dishes is seared scallops. When it’s on the menu, it’s almost always what I order. Seared scallops are very easy to make at home; however, I didn’t know that for years. I tried numerous times and just seemed to have soggy edges with no color. Finally, I learned that the secret is using fresh “dry” scallops. Dry scallops are either served or frozen right away. Wet scallops on the other hand have been preserved with phosphates that absorb moisture. When you try to sear wet scallops, all of the moisture comes out and just steams the scallops. It’s hard to tell the difference at the market because the package isn’t always marked wet or dry. I get my scallops fresh at Whole Foods.
When living in Europe, some great friends gave me an Italian pasta maker for Christmas. I haven’t pulled it out since I’ve been in the states. Today, I bought some fresh scallops and visited a farmer’s market, so I decided dinner should be homemade all the way. The recipe is easy, but the process takes some time. If you don’t have the time or the tools, you can buy fresh pasta at the market and serve the primavera over any size noodle.
Fresh Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 ½ ounces flour
- 2 eggs
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 tablespoons water
- 1 generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add two eggs and mix with one hand. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon water and mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter top. Add salt. Then, alternate oil and water 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a smooth dough-like consistency.
- Shape the pasta dough into a ball and cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Cut the dough into ¼-inch slices.
- Set the pasta maker on to position 1 and pass the dough through the flat rollers. Sprinkle the dough with flour and change the thickness of the rollers one step. Pass through again and repeat, until the pasta reaches your desired thickness.
- Dust with flour and pass the dough through the noodle cutter. To cook, place in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes.
This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator
Fresh Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 ½ ounces flour
- 2 eggs
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 tablespoons water
- 1 generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add two eggs and mix with one hand. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon water and mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter top. Add salt. Then, alternate oil and water 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a smooth dough-like consistency.
- Shape the pasta dough into a ball and cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Cut the dough into ¼-inch slices.
- Set the pasta maker on to position 1 and pass the dough through the flat rollers. Sprinkle the dough with flour and change the thickness of the rollers one step. Pass through again and repeat, until the pasta reaches your desired thickness.
- Dust with flour and pass the dough through the noodle cutter. To cook, place in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes.
This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator
Cece Peterson says
Hi Christie, this was the first recipe I’ve prepared from your site. I love to cook, and I’m always looking for creative recipes.
I made the Roasted Scallop Primavera for dinner tonight. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I’ll be making it again. Yes, I’ll be sharing this recipe with my friends, and looking for your other recipes to add to my collection.
I made this recipe exactly as written, but I may have been too heavy-handed with the Tony’s. I like heat more than my husband, so I might have gotten carried away. He ate it, and really liked it, but it was too much heat for him. Next time, I’ll be a little more cautious, knowing that I can add heat at the end with spicy oil just on my portion. Tonight I added Harissa oil, and it was perfect!
Thanks for an awesome recipe!