November Cooking--Seafood Pasta in a Foil Package

I bought Pioneer Woman's new cookbook, Dinnertime, and am planning to make many of the recipes.  This is the first one that I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it turns out but it sounds scrumptious.

OK, I have now made this recipe and it is a definite keeper!  I did make a couple of changes though.  First, I did not use the foil package. I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven. (The foil looked like a mess waiting to happen.) Second, I did not use the heavy cream at the end; I forgot it and it was fine without the extra fat and calories. The next time I make it, I plan to use 2 pounds of shrimp and skip the scallops only because we really like shrimp. 

1 pound scallops, rinsed 

3 tablespoons butter 

3 tablespoons olive oil 

1 pound jumbo or large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed 

4 garlic cloves, minced

 1/2 cup dry white wine 

Three 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes 

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste 

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste 

1 pound linguine, fettuccini, fusilli, or riccia pasta,cooked just short of al dente 

½ cup heavy cream, warmed 

Basil leaves, torn 

Parsley leaves, torn

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ° F.

2. Place the scallops on a couple of paper towels and pat them dry with another paper towel. (This will help them sear better.)

3. In a large skillet (I used nonstick), heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the scallops on both sides until they have nice color on the surface, 1 to 1 ½ minutes per side.

4. Remove them to a plate (and try not to sneak one of them! They’re irresistible). . . .

5. In the same skillet, keeping the heat at medium high, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil . . .

6. And throw in the shrimp, cooking them quickly until they’re nicely opaque and browned, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Remove them to a plate and set aside.

7. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and throw in the garlic. Stir it quickly to prevent it from burning . . .

8. Then pour in the wine!

9. Stir the liquid and let it reduce for a couple of minutes . . .

10. Then add the tomatoes with their juices, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir the sauce and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

11. Grab two large sheets of heavy aluminum foil and overlap them by about 8 inches on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the drained pasta onto the foil.

12. Spoon the sauce over the pasta . . .

13. Then slide the sautéed seafood on top, making sure you include all the juices from the plate.

14. Tightly wrap the foil into a package, rolling up the sides so it won’t leak. Bake for 15 minutes.

15. To serve, carefully transfer the foil package onto a platter. Open it right before serving . . .

16. Drizzle warm cream over the top . . .

17. And sprinkle with torn basil and parsley.

18. As you serve it up, be sure to give everyone a spoonful of the sauce! It’s heavenly.