Lemon Pasta with Scallops & Ricotta

A few weeks ago, I came across a video featuring an incredibly simple, easy and appealing lemon pasta dish. My Lemon Pasta with Scallops & Ricotta was inspired by this video and I would like to provide a link in case you are interested in the original recipe. Here you are, lemon pasta from cityline.

To make a legitimate entrée for a traditional diet, I added scallops and Ricotta cheese for extra protein. For Vegetarian/Vegan diets, omit scallops. For Vegan diet, use vegan Ricotta.

Even with the addition of scallops, this Lemon Pasta with Scallops & Ricotta recipe contains only 5 main ingredients. The short cooking time of less than 10 minutes adds an extra benefit to the simplicity of the ingredients’ combination. The shortest cooking time can be achieved by preparing all the dish components at the same time. If you are not comfortable in multitasking in the kitchen, just go step-by-step, but your total cooking time will extend by another 10 minutes.

The result is a creamy pasta dish with a tangy lemon kick and inherent sweetness of pan-seared mini scallops that makes this recipe a hit. It’s perfect comfort food for a busy day when time is tight.

Substitutes

Pasta – substitute dry pasta for fresh. Please note dry pasta cooking time is twice as long. In my recipe, I am using spaghettini, but you can also use spaghetti, tagliolini, linguine or other similar types.

Frozen mini scallops – substitute fresh scallops of any size. Shrimp will work just fine as well. Ricotta cheese – substitute for Mascarpone, creamy cottage cheese, heavy cream or crème fraîche.

Fresh thyme – substitute fresh basil; you can use dry herbs, but they are less flavorful.

Recipe components that are cooked separately

Sequence of cooking

Cook either all 3 components simultaneously or in the following sequence:

1. Spaghettini
2. Scallops
3. Ricotta & lemon sauce

Looking for more comfort food recipes? Check these out:

Lemon Pasta with Scallops & Ricotta

Recipe by The Minty Tomato

5.0 from 5 votes

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

586

kcal

Total time

15

minutes

This quick and easy pasta dish with a tangy lemon kick and inherent sweetness of pan-seared mini scallops is perfect comfort food for a busy day when time is tight.

Ingredients

• 200 grams Spaghettini

• 300 grams Frozen mini scallops

• 2 tbsp Ricotta cheese

• 1 Lemon for zest and juice (juice only half the lemon after zesting)

• 5 Sprigs of fresh thyme (3 picked and 2 for garnish)

• 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

• 4 tbsp Butter

• Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Prepare all the ingredients.
  
• Prepare a large pot for pasta, cast-iron pan (or non-stick frying pan) for scallops and another non-stick frying pan for the sauce.
  
• Pasta
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fresh pasta for 2-3 minutes or until al dente. If you are using dry pasta, cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Reserve 0.5 cup of pasta water.
• While pasta is cooking, zest 1 lemon
• Scallops
• If you are using frozen scallops, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water for about 20 minutes.
• Using a paper towel, pat scallops dry to absorb all the moisture before searing.
• Add 2 tbsp of butter and 1.5 tbsp of olive oil to a cast-iron pan (or non-stick frying pan) on high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the scallops, sprinkle with salt & pepper and sear for 2 minutes or until a golden-brown crust has formed. Flip once and sear for 2 minutes on the opposite side. After 4 minutes total, remove to a bowl to prevent further cooking.
• Sauce
• To keep the sauce creamy, devote your attention to the sauce once you start cooking it. In a non-stick frying pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter in 2.5 tbsp of olive oil.
• Add juice of half the lemon and stir the mixture briefly.
• Add picked leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme and 2 tbsp of Ricotta cheese.  Mix briefly.
• Add pasta (always add pasta to the sauce, not vice versa). Stir. Add a bit of pasta water if needed. Remove from heat.
  
• Plating
• Gently arrange your sauce-enrobed pasta in the serving bowls. Top with scallops and garnish with lemon zest, then a sprig of thyme on each.
  

Notes

• Keep leftovers refrigerated up to 2 days.
• When reheating the pasta in microwave, add a bit of milk or water to loosen it up.