I was quite nervous when I made this Scallop Carbonara for our dinner on Sunday evening. I've said it several times: I am not a big egg person. Especially when it involves an egg yolk. Hence, I cannot make my own Ceasar salad dressing because I get queasy when I eat it just knowing it had raw egg yolk in it. I have shied away from Carbonara for as long as I have because of that very reason. I don't care that the heat from the pasta (or in this case, the cream that is whisked into the egg) cooks the egg. It still makes me queasy. However, it was inevitable that I would be making it in my life because it was one dish that Grumpy consistently orders out.
When my parents were here last weekend, we took them over to the Fresh Market in Latham. I knew that they would love the place and as long as mom felt up to going, we wanted to show it to them. While browsing around I finally came across the bucatini pasta that I had been looking for. I snatched the package right up. It could have cost me $10 for all I cared, I wanted to try that pasta! (it wasn't that much by the way). I immediately started thinking what I was going to make with it. I really wanted to try a BLT Spaghetti that Rachel Ray made on her show recently. I loved how she dropped the pasta in the pesto and coated it. Yum! However, I knew Grumpy probably wouldn't be as happy with that meal as he would if I made a seafood pasta one. So, I started looking for Carbonara recipes. I found a recipe for Bucatini Carbonara with Zucchini on Epicurious. I decided I would go with the basics of that recipe and fix it up the way Grumpy would like with bay scallops and asparagus in place of the zucchini. Grumpy said it had good flavor, that I cooked the scallops perfectly.
Oh, and by the way, I love the bucatini pasta! I have half the package left and will definitely be making a dish for me with the remainder!
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Scallop Carbonara with Asparagus
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon cut into pieces
- 1 pound bay scallops
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound asparagus chopped
- 1 pound bucatini
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese , grated (divided)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente according to package directions. Drain well and return pasta to pot.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring often. Using slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels and drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from skillet.
- Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook until they just turn opaque. Remove the scallops from the skillet.
- Add asparagus and saute until tender, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Crack eggs into large bowl and whisk to blend and set aside.
- Add the cream, garlic, and crushed pepper to bacon drippings in the skillet and bring to boil. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into eggs. Mix in ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Add the cream sauce sauce to the cooked pasta and toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta (do not boil).
- Add the cooked bacon and asparagus and toss to heat through. Serve with remaining cheese.
Anonymous
Awesome recipe. I absolutely loved it.
Here’s a recipe for Fettuccine Carbonara you may like to try.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/fettuccine-carbonara-recipe/
Thanks for sharing.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
Good morning! I featured this recipe on my blog today, it looks great! Thanks for allowing me to share. Here is the link http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/week-16-seafood-frenzy-friday.html
Julie M.
Now THAT looks delicious. Great recipe Shelby!
baobabs
this looks amazing!! scallops carbonara! can't wait to try. thanks for sharing!
T and Tea Cake
That egg thing is the very same reason why I did not dare so far to do a carbonara: the ehought of raw egg is just so...uhhhh. It's more about the whites with me, though, as I still enjoy boiled eggs that are still a little soft in the centre.
I am sure this recipe is delicious with ingedients such as aspatgus and scallops, but I still couldn't. Maybe if I'd find a way to pan-fry them just reaally quickly along with the pasta... 😉
Tobias
http://tandteacake.blogspot.com/
The Food Hunter
I love buccatini too...this is a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Elle
You cannot go wrong with scallops and bacon in any combination!
Jules
That looks really great, I haven't ever attempted carbonara before, now I can't wait to try it.
Deeba PAB
Lucky Grumpy! What a great flavour combination Shelby.... yum!
marla {family fresh cooking}
Such a great carbonara recipe! Love the addition of scallops and asparagus.
Georgia Pellegrini
I love scallops like this, with a nice bacon and saucy combination!
vanillasugarblog
scallops and bacon with pasta.
man Shel you know how to make a good dinner.
I sure hope grumpy appreciates you and your fabulous meals.
Cajun Chef Ryan
I think I would polish that dish off as well. Tell Grumpy to save some for us!
Donna-FFW
OMG! This looks absolutely delicious! Fabulous dish, Shelby!! And your photo.. perfection!
Aggie
This looks so delicious!! I haven't cooked with the smaller scallops...I think ever! I would love to try them in a pasta dish!
Coleen
WOW, what a photo!! Looks absolutely delicious.
Lisa~~
Scallops & bacon, my husband would go crazy for this dish.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
honeyb
Sold as soon as I saw bacon! 😉