The other day I headed to Trader Joe’s and the lines stretched out past several store fronts. I kept driving and headed to Whole Foods. No lines. I found some frozen scallops and grabbed them. It was meant to be! The day before I found some prosciutto on sale at another grocery store. Dinner. Planned. For the side dish, Cacio e Pepe seemed seemed like the perfect match for the scallops and the cream sauce.

Cruising the web I found a recipe that did not wrap the prosciutto around the scallops. The concept just did not seem right. And it involved cream. And wine.

My only warning, besides be hungry, is to watch how much you salt the pasta water and the scallops. The prosciutto is salty and the pasta has two different salty cheeses. Use salt judiciously. You can always add salt, but you cannot remove it.

Make sure your scallops are dry. I put them on a plate with paper towels on top and bottom, to absorb any water. When they hit the pan, you don’t want hot oil spitting at you. They will also brown better if they are dry. I had about four scallops for each of us as I was also serving pasta. The portions were good.

This dish cooks relatively quickly. I was concerned with making the quick pasta dish at the same time. I made sure I had ingredients for both recipes measured out so I could work quickly. I started cooking the pasta first knowing it goes back into a hot pan with melted butter and then cheese. It would warm up quickly. After I drained the pasta, I started cooking the scallops. It all worked out perfectly. Everything was hot and delectable.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz scallops (about 10 large scallops)

3 oz prosciutto (roughly chopped or just torn into large pieces)

2 tbsp. butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 tsp salt or to taste

1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

First step is to make sure all the ingredients are measured out or ready to be used.

Season the scallops lightly with salt and pepper.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium high heat. Add the scallops to the skillet in a single layer and sear them on each side until slightly golden. Remove the scallops from the skillet to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet add the chopped prosciutto and fry until nice and crispy. Leaving the prosciutto in the pan, add the butter and the garlic to the skillet and cook until butter melts and the garlic becomes aromatic.

Stir in the wine to deglaze the pan. Add the heavy cream and stir while it thickens and reduces. Taste the sauce after it reduces a bit. If you think it needs salt you may add it now. I strongly suggest you taste it first. Cook the sauce until it thickens. I would double the cream. Or triple it. I like to reduce cream sauces until they are very thick. You’ll also want enough sauce to drizzle on the pasta. If you think there’s too much, then don’t use it all. But you will want more! Add the scallops back into the skillet. You can garnish it with fresh parsley.

I like to plate the pasta first, and the put the scallops and sauce on top. Enjoy!