This picture really needed a garnish - or something, but we think you can tell what you’re looking at. Creamy, Basily (Basilesque? Basilish?), Shrimpy, Scallopy Parmesan goodness on Fettucine with fresh roasted Zucchini on the side (that is what you were thinking, right?). It’s like supermarket alfredo-from-a-tub on Fettucine only delicious, not at all crappy, and highly elevated.We became huge fans of the Jake’s Seafood Cookbook
This version borrows heavily from the recipe in the cookbook, but as usual, we tweaked it. The original recipe calls for Bay Shrimp and Bay Scallops, which are too little for us so we went with some fatty Sea Scallops (then we quartered them, go figure) and we think the Shrimp might have been of the ‘medium-large’ persuasion (36-40 per pound), but we can’t remember for sure…anyhoo, they were roughly the same size as the scallop hunks.
Innards:
- 1 lb Fettucine pasta
- Butter (we always use unsalted butter)
- Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pint Heavy Cream (don’t use half ‘n half, the sauce’ll break)
- 1 cup (or so) grated Parmesan
- 4 to 6 big fat Sea Scallops (or more if they’re smallish) quartered
- 1/2 pound (or so, whatever looks like an equal portion to the Scallops) ‘medium-largish’ Shrimp, cleaned/deveined/shells removed/etc.
- 3 (this is a guess, you could insert the word ’some’ here) Green onions, chopped (call ‘em Scallions, if you’re feeling fancy)
- 6 or 8 fresh Basil leaves, torn
Method:
- Cook the pasta in salted water just until done (al dente, ‘to the bite’…whatever) and drain it (always save some pasta cooking water)
- Heat a knob of butter and a little Olive Oil on medium in a biggish pan until it’s shimmery
- Add the Garlic and cook for about a minute (don’t go too long!!!)
- Add the Cream and Parmesan, increase the heat to high and let it reduce for a minute or two, stirring pretty much constantly
- Add the Shrimp and Scallops, and some of the chopped Green Onion and cook it for about 2 or 3 minutes, until the Scallops and Shrimp are just opaque
- Take it off the heat and add the fresh Basil
- Serve it over the pasta (prettier) or toss the whole mess together (easier, add a little of the reserved pasta water if you need a little more liquid)
- Garnish with some fresh Basil leaves (like we should’ve)
We think this would also be good with hunks of Salmon instead of the other seafood. Oooooh, or maybe topped with a little smoked Salmon and a drizzle of chive or some other herby-type oil…mmmmmm…next time, next time…
