Sea Scallops and Fettuccine

A quiet week. The kind of week that does not have a headline or a turning point, just the daily accumulation of meals and moments. Monday: baked chicken and rice. Tuesday: spaghetti with meat sauce. Wednesday: tacos (Aiden's eternal request). Thursday: I tried something new — shrimp and grits, a dish I have never made but have been reading about in the Edna Lewis cookbook. Stone-ground grits (not instant — the difference is everything), cooked slowly with butter and cheese, topped with shrimp sauteed in garlic, butter, and a splash of white wine. The dish was Southern in its roots and sophisticated in its execution, and it was the first time I cooked something that felt like a restaurant dish in my home kitchen. The grits were creamy. The shrimp were pink and curled and garlicky. The flavor was simple and complex at the same time, which is the hallmark of great Southern cooking: simple ingredients, complex results. Aiden ate the grits (carbohydrate approved) and avoided the shrimp (seafood remains under negotiation). Zaria ate everything, because Zaria eats everything that is not actively trying to eat her. She said, "This is fancy, Dada." Fancy. A three-year-old called my food fancy. I have arrived at a place I did not know existed: the intersection of soul food and something more, where the food tastes like Mama's kitchen but looks like a restaurant plate, and the man making it is both a factory worker and a chef, and both identities are true. The Carter's Kitchen jar on the counter has four hundred and sixty dollars. Small money. Dream money. The kind of money that does not pay bills but does pay for belief, and belief is the currency that dreams run on.

The night Zaria called my cooking “fancy,” something shifted in me — I realized that the gap between a home cook and a chef is smaller than I ever believed, and that the secret is almost always patience with simple, quality ingredients. Sea Scallops and Fettuccine carries that same truth: butter, garlic, a splash of wine, and something beautiful from the sea, all coming together in a way that looks like it belongs on a white tablecloth. It’s the dish I’ll be making next time I want to prove to myself — and to Zaria — that Carter’s Kitchen is the real thing.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz fettuccine pasta
1 lb large sea scallops, patted dry
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining. Drain and set aside.
Prep the scallops. Pat scallops thoroughly dry with paper towels — this is the key to a proper sear. Season both sides with salt and black pepper.
Sear the scallops. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add scallops in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan. Sear without moving for 2 minutes until a deep golden crust forms. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the same skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes if using; cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by half.
Finish the sauce. Stir in heavy cream and lemon zest. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring to incorporate. Stir in lemon juice and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine and serve. Add the drained fettuccine to the skillet and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time if needed to loosen the sauce. Divide pasta among four plates, top each portion with 3 scallops, and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sea Scallops and Fettuccine — When Simple Ingredients Make Something Fancy