Shellfish is a staple in our household. We are always trying different combinations. This recipe pairs two types, scallops and crab, in a savory white wine sauce. This sauce is so tasty that you might want to have some crusty Italian bread on hand to soak up the leftovers. We made our dish using freshly made thin spaghetti, but any thin noodle pasta would work – the thin pasta works great in soaking up the sauce so each bite is as flavorful as the last.
You can certainly customize this dish with different types of shellfish (shrimp and clams would be my next choice!), by using different types of tomatoes or by doubling the spinach as it tends to melt away. My recommendation is to use regular spinach (rather than baby spinach) as it tends to hold up better in the sauce. No matter how you choose to make yours, let me know what you think!
Scallops & Crab Over Pasta in a Spinach, Tomato and White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound scallops
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 2 cups spinach
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup white wine
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 8 oz lump crab meat
Instructions
Scallops
- Pat scallops dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in skillet over medium high heat.
- Add scallops, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes.
- Flip and cook for additional 2 minutes until opaque. Remove from heat and set aside.
Sauce Recipe
- In a deep pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and butter over medium heat.
- Add red pepper flakes and chopped shallot, cook 5 minutes until soft.
- Add spinach, cook until wilted.
- Add garlic, halved tomatoes, white wine. Reduced heat and simmer 8-10 minutes until tomatoes are softened.
- Cook pasta, either fresh or dry, one minute less than package instructions. Set aside 1/4 cup pasta water prior to draining.
- Slowly toss pasta in the white wine sauce, adding a tablespoon of pasta water at a time until thickened and well coated.
- Top dish with scallops and heated lump crab meat.
