pasta primavera with scallops

I thought about taking a break from our favorite tilapia fillets : ) for our Friday fish and seafood dinner and picked up some scallops at the grocery instead. These were the ready to cook frozen baby or mini ones and I thought about trying them out in some pasta dish. Pasta primavera came to my mind as I was browsing for ideas in an old issue of Cook's Country magazine. I had the vegetables and other ingredients for this and it didn't really take long to make fresh fettucine pasta using our Kitchenaid pasta attachments. I enjoy making fresh pasta at home using a combination of whole wheat and all purpose flour for a healthier version. As promised in my previous post, I added the chopped fresh basil leaves I harvested in the sauce and sprinkled them generously on the pasta before serving.

PASTA PRIMAVERA WITH SCALLOPS
1 package frozen mini scallops, thawed out and drained
orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced
broccoli florets
frozen peas
half & half or cream
pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
water or chicken broth, optional
lemon zest and a little juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup diced tomataoes
chopped fresh basil leaves
cooked fettucine pasta

Blanch the vegetables in boiling water until half cooked. Combine and set aside. Dry the scallops with papertowel and sprinkle with lemon zest and a little juice. Season with a little salt and pepper. In a small amount of olive oil, cook the scallops for a few minutes until they turn white and opaque. Be careful not to overcook. Transfer to a colander over a bowl to drain. Reserve the liquid from the scallops. In the same pan, add a small amount of olive oil, then sautee the minced garlic, onions and tomatoes for a few minutes. Add the reserved liquid from the scallops and simmer. Add about half a cup of half & half or cream, chopped fresh basil and continue to simmer gently. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Finally, toss in the blanched vegetables and the scallops. Pour over the fettucine pasta. Sprinkle additional chopped basil leaves for garnish and flavor.