Chipotle Lemon Tarragon Scallops with Angel Hair Pasta
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Serves: 2
Chipotle lemon tarragon scallops with angel hair pasta is a great choice for a dinner party or date night. Ready in less than 30 minutes!
INGREDIENTS:
10-12 large scallops
Salt & pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces uncooked capellini (angel hair pasta)
1 chipotle chile, rehydrated in hot water til soft, then pureed
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Cream (optional), start with 1/4 cup and increase if needed
Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash scallops and trim the side muscle off them if need be (most grocery store scallops come with this already removed). Pat the scallops dry with paper towel (do this thoroughly). Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.
Prepare the tarragon, lemon, parmesan cheese, and parsley (optional).
Boil a large pot of salted water for the capellini. Keep in mind it only takes a few minutes to cook, so watch it carefully. I’d suggest not cooking the pasta until you’re almost ready to serve.
Meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium-high heat for a few minutes until it’s very hot. Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the scallops and sear them for 2 minutes on each side. Remove pan from heat and put scallops onto a plate. Place a piece of foil over top of them to keep them warm while you make the sauce.
Now is a good point to put the capellini in the water.
Discard the grease from the skillet and return it to the stove (medium heat). Melt the rest of the butter and add the tarragon, lemon juice, and 1-2 tsp of the pureed chipotle to the skillet.
Once the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/4 cup of the water, and then drain the pasta. Add pasta, pasta water, parmesan cheese, scallops, and cream (optional) to the skillet. Toss it all together gently and serve immediately with a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley if desired.
Slightly adapted from a recipe from saltandlavender.com