Pasta with Scallops and Fresh Garden Vegetables

I love to hunt for interesting pastas from TJ MAXX stores - Marshall's, Maxs and Home Goods. They are a bargain compared to the gourmet prices on imported Italian pastas. 

Tonight we had Barilotti with scallops and fresh vegetables. I searched our frig and garden and came up with a 23-ingredient dish! It was easy to cook, despite all those ingredients. (WHAT IS BARILOTTI? It's a hearty pasta made of semolina flour and water. Shaped like an empty pea pod, it's a perfect form for cradling sauce, according to Ciao Ciao Bambina.)

Ingredients: Sea scallops, pasta, Manchego cheese, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, celery salt, olive oil, butter, bacon, spinach, basil, chives, shallots, roasted garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, shishito peppers, olives, cream, white wine, egg,

First, I cooked and drained about 8 oz. of the Barilotti pasta. Interestingly, I couldn't find Barilotti in my pasta encyclopedia. The $6.00 bag cost me $3.99 at Home Goods. It's a pasta that creates a nice pocket for a rich creamy pasta sauce. I cooked it just past al dente so as not to have any crunchiness. I drained it and set it aside. 

I gathered olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, butter, heavy cream, white wine, 1/4 c. sliced olives,  and one egg. Grated some Manchego cheese (or Parmesan or other hard cheeses.)

While I was cooking the pasta, I chopped my veggies:

• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 10 stems of fresh chives, sliced 1/8 
• 10 sprigs of Globe Basil (less of sweet basil leaves)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 T. roasted garlic
• 2 shishito peppers or mixture of bell peppers to make 1/2 cup thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow and 1/2 zucchini squash, sliced vertically and sliced into1/4 in. slices

I tossed the zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, shallot and garlic with olive oil and 1/4 tsp. celery salt, salt and pepper and roast in 400 degree oven about 10 min. until roasted (not crisp, but not too soft.)

In a hot skillet, I cooked 4 slices bacon diced.  When cooked, I tossed the pasta in the bacon and remove it to to another pot to stay warm. I added a few large handfuls of fresh spinach leaves and olives. Covered to keep warm.

In the empty skillet, I added a T butter to the bacon grease left in the pan and placed about 20 washed and dried sea scallops, seasoned with salt and pepper. Quickly sauteed so they were seared. 

I added 1/4 c. white wine and cooked for a scant minute. Removed scallops to the pot with pasta and bacon and spinach. Added 1 Tsp. red pepper flakes to the pot. Covered again to keep warm and wilt the spinach. 

To the white wine and scallop liquid, I added 2 T. butter and 1/4 c. heavy cream. Cooked about 1 minute and added diced tomato and basil leaves. Slowly whisked in 1 egg, whipped with a fork. Turned off heat. This was nice and creamy. Added in the roasted vegetables. Stirred.

Poured this mixture over the pasta/spinach/bacon/scallops in the pot. Mixed quickly. Plated and garnished with cheese and chives and some basil leaves.