Asian Pesto With Orecchiette Pasta And Scallops

Ingredients

1 Dozen Sea Scallops
400g Orecchiette Pasta
1 Cup Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon or to taste

Asian Pesto
6 Cloves Garlic, peeled
3 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded
5 Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, chopped (optional)
¾ Cup Packed Basil Leaves
¾ Cup Packed Fresh Cilantro
½ Cup Packed Fresh Mint Leaves
1 Cup Toasted Walnuts
Zest of 2 Lemons
Sea Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Cup Hazelnut Oil

Method

Make the pesto. Combine the garlic, peppers, chilies, basil, cilantro, mint leaves, walnuts, and lemon zest in a food processor or a blender. Process all the ingredients with the oils and season with sea salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

Sear the scallops in a cast-iron pan that has been heating over a high heat with 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil. Turn scallops once, and remove from heat when scallops are just cooked, about 1 minute per side.


Toss the pasta with ½ of the pesto recipe, tomatoes and lemon juice. Then top with scallops and season with extra black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.