pesto fettucine & scallops

A fast and simple mid-week dinner, easy with store-bought pesto, pan-fried scallops and a mixed veggies side dish. A sprinkle of crispy bacon strips was the perfect topping which went very well with the scallops. I give my respect to whoever thought about putting bacon and scallops together, works really well, the reason for the popularity of bacon-wrapped scallop appetizers. It also gave me another chance to have some more asparagus with the meal. Just have to take advantage of them especially now that it's springtime when they're at their peak, very tender and sweet. Scallops are available frozen in the seafood section of most grocery stores here. Thaw them out in the fridge, drain or pat dry with papertowel, season with a little salt and pepper, and pan-fry in a small amount of olive oil. It takes only about 2 minutes per side to cook them. Overcooking will make them tough. In fact, getting the rest of the meal ready and assembled on the plate, leaving room for the scallops, will ensure that they're still warm when served. Shrimps and prawns may always be substituted. I think fettucine rigate is a good pasta choice since the pesto sauce clings and coats the pasta well. I have used store-bought pesto sauce for pizzas, sandwiches and bruschetta. No fuss, no mess, I will definitely use it again. Have also tried making pesto from scratch before, fresh is of course always the best, but having this bottled pesto in the pantry is, no doubt, very handy for quick snacks and easy to fix meals like this.