Pan seared scallops sit atop this striking bold black spaghetti that’s tossed in a shallot, garlic and lemon pan sauce then finished with a generous amount of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. It’s beautiful moody colour makes this dish perfect for date night and great for something to enjoy during the week. Using only a handful of ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes.

Along with looking devilishly delicious, this dish is ridiculously simple. It’s bursting with bright, fresh flavours and made with an easy light sauce that uses shallots and garlic aromatics, a splash of pasta water and freshly pressed lemon juice. By adding in the pasta straight from the boiling water and working it into the aromatics and lemon juice it slowly creates a thin sauce that’s light with a fresh lemon taste.

What is black pasta?

The colour comes from squid ink. Here we used the PC black label spaghetti that is coloured with cuttle fish ink. Squid ink pasta has a rich, briny flavour with the faint hint of sea saltiness, which makes it absolutely perfect for pairing with seafood. You can find this type of pasta in most grocers and can also order it online. If you can’t find it or prefer more traditional pasta you can substitute for regular spaghetti or linguini. Cook enough pasta for 4 in a pot of rolling heavily salted water. Serve with fresh grated parm for a touch of creaminess and fresh parsley for a pop of colour.

Cooking scallops

Make sure your scallops are dry. Pat both sides dry with a paper towel. You can use fresh or frozen scallops that have been thawed. Add them into a HOT skillet ensuring that they aren’t touching. Dry scallops are what will yield that nice golden colour and have a good amount of butter and oil in the pan to lock in the flavour. Do not touch them until you’re ready to flip. Let them sit and sizzle and really brown.

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast

Print Recipe

seared scallops with black pasta

Beautiful black pasta tossed in an aromatic bath of sauteed shallots, garlic and fresh lemon juice that's topped with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Date Night

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 500 g black spaghetti
• 1 1/2 pound scallops
• 3 TBS butter
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 large shallots diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1-2 lemons
• fresh parmesan for serving
• garnish with fresh chopped parsley

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling cook the pasta al dente. About 8 mins. Reserve 1 cup pasta water once cooked.
• In a large cast iron pot, or skillet melt 2 TBS butter with olive oil over medium high heat.. Pat dry the scallops and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and tent loosely to keep warm.
• Add the remaining butter and sauté the shallots with garlic on medium heat for 1 minute. The pasta should be ready by now. Add 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the pan to deglaze the pan and create a sauce. Scoop the noodles directly into the pan, freshly squeeze lemon over the pasta and toss in the lemon once done. Stir the pasta in the sauce for 2 minutes to allow the flavours to meld together and coat the noodles. Add more pasta water if needed.
• To serve: plate pasta, top with scallops and serve with freshly grated parmesan and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!