Clam and Bay Scallop Pasta

I LOVE seafood. I'm not sure if it's a concerning obsession but I can't live a life without seafood. I'm especially obsessed with shellfish. Cooking this pasta was so much fun and extremely easy. The ingredients are so simple, inexpensive and accessible to anyone.

If you're going to make a good seafood pasta, don't skimp out on getting the best of the best ingredients. Spend that extra cash and go to the seafood section of your grocery store and talk to the person back there!

That being said, I really did not spend hundreds of dollars on this dish but it still tasted like a million bucks. Pasta clams and bay scallops are some of the inexpensive luxuries in the fish tank.

I basically took the simple garlicy and lemony flavours of a scampi and replaced it with a different shellfish.

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
200g fresh live pasta clams (in shell), rinsed and cleaned
100g bay scallops (shucked and out the shell)
1 shallot
2 to 3 minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine. I used Naked Grape wine
1/4 cup chicken stock (I would say this is optional. I found it made my sauce lighter but I liked that. Omit this if you want a thick sauce)
1/4 cup of cream (I used milk because it was what I had but I also enjoyed that it was lighter)
1/2 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh thyme
Juice of 3/4 a lemon and the zest of the whole lemon
1/4 cup grated fresh parmigiano reggiano (the good kind!)
salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

• Cook your pasta by following the directions on the packaging. Set aside when it's cooked and drained
• In a large skillet, medium heat, heat up the olive oil and butter until the butter melts. Saute the shallot and garlic until they are tender (don't burn it)
• Pour in the white and let it simmer until the alcohol cooked out. Pour in the chicken stock
• Lower the heat to low-medium, add in the bay scallops. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Add lemon juice and zest
• Add cream or milk until the sauce thickens up a bit
• Add the thyme
• Add pasta and stir
• Season with salt and pepper
• Toss in the clams and cover. Keep it covered for about 5 to 7 mins and check on the clams. They are done once all of the shells pop open. It may take a bit of stirring around and putting the lid back on.
• As soon as the clams open up, turn the heat off!
• Add the parmigiano reggiano (add a bit more just because!)

Enjoy with the rest of that bottle of wine! Or add more parmigiano reggiano