This creamy rigatoni with seared scallops is comfort-food heaven. Perfectly seared scallops nestled into a creamy, spicy sauce make for an incredible dinner!
I received beautiful scallops in my CSA box this week. I knew immediately, I wanted to try a rich, comforting bowl of rigatoni with seared scallops.
The base of the sauce is white wine and chicken stock. It is loaded with sliced sweet onion, capers, garlic, and crushed red pepper (one of my favorite combinations!). The sauce is finished with cherry tomatoes, white wine, chicken stock, and a healthy splash of heavy cream. It’s a rich sauce, but lemon juice and parsley add just the right amount of brightness to the sauce. You can serve this pasta any time of year – hot or cold weather!
How to make this Creamy Rigatoni with Seared Scallops:
This rigatoni with scallops is not terribly difficult to make but you will use three pots and pans, so it’s a little more labor-intensive than some recipes, but I promise, the finished product will be worth it.
First, you’ll make the sauce. Start by sautéing a sliced sweet onion and add minced garlic, drained capers, and plenty of crushed red pepper. Deglaze with white wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Toss in the quartered cherry tomatoes and let it simmer while you prepare the pasta.
Once the pasta has mostly cooked through, add heavy cream to the sauce along with parsley. and lemon juice. Using a spider strainer, toss slightly undercooked pasta (along with a bit of pasta cooking water) directly into the sauce and let it simmer a bit longer to thicken up the sauce.
While the pasta simmers, sear those scallops in butter and oil until cooked through! Toss the scallops with the pasta and
Looking for more pasta recipes? Check my archives!
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Creamy Rigatoni with Seared Scallops
Equipment
- Large pot
- Medium Skillet
Ingredients
Spicy Rigatoni:
- 2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil
- 1 sweet onion peeled and sliced into thin wedges
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper more or less to taste
- 1 cup white wine or chicken stock
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes quartered
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 16 ounces dry rigatoni
- 1 lemon juiced
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Scallops:
- 1 pound dry-packed sea scallops muscle removed
- 2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Start the Sauce:
- In a wide pot, heat the neutral cooking oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until just beginning to soften.
- Add the garlic, capers, and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Deglaze the Pan:
- Add the white wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Simmer the Sauce:
- Add the cherry tomatoes to the sauce and bring to a boil. Taste and season lightly with salt and pepper. The capers and chicken stock will lend a lot of salt to this recipe, so be careful with salting too heavily. Reduce heat and simmer as you prepare the rest of the meal.
Boil the Pasta:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook for about 2-3 minutes under al dente.
Finish the Sauce:
- Pour the heavy cream into the sauce. Scoop out 1/3 cup pasta water from the rigatoni and add it to the sauce. Using a spider strainer, add the slightly undercooked rigatoni directly to the sauce. Bring to a very gentle bubble – not boiling, but slightly above a simmer. And cook for 5-7 minutes more until the sauce is very thick and the pasta is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and minced parsley. Taste and season again to your preference.
Sear the Scallops:
- Pat the scallops dry. Season lightly with salt and pepper and pat dry again.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Melt the butter into the skillet. Once melted and frothy, add the scallops, without overcrowding the pan, and cook for 1-2 minutes until very well seared. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more until the scallops are opaque and cooked through.
- Turn off the heat on the scallops and immediately transfer the scallops on top of the pasta in the skillet. Turn off the heat.
To Serve:
- Divide the pasta and scallops between shallow bowls. Garnish with more minced parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Todabia no la he hecho ,pero te agradezco, porque lo has explicado de una manera genial y parece que esta riquísima, mañana la haré😋