Seared Scallops over Bucatini with White Wine Sauce

Seared Scallops over Bucatini with White Wine Sauce is perfect for Christmas Eve dinner or a special occasion with its intense garlic and lemon flavor coating strands of delicate pasta.

If you’re Italian like me, chances are you celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. This tradition stems from abstaining from meat the day before Christmas Day – thus having a lighter feast on several different fishes.

FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

The tradition came from Italy, but no one knows where exactly. Its popularity is mostly driven by Italian Americans rekindling the “old world” of Italy. It’s origin is most likely from Southern Italy since Northern Italian regions have a tradition of eating gnocchi or agnolotti for Christmas Eve dinner.

WHAT DO ITALIANS EAT ON CHRISTMAS EVE

While you can certainly eat your seven (or more) fishes in any way, my family’s tradition is to have it all at once, in a big bowl of marinara sauce over linguine. Think of dishes like, linguine frutti di mare, zuppe di Pesce, or cioppino, all very similar, but the sauce is not made as a soup.
Since I already have a recipe similar to this, (Summer Tomatoes & Shrimp), I decided to change it up for you, so you have multiple ways to take part in this Italian tradition on Christmas Eve!

Seared Scallops over Bucatini with White Wine Sauce

This recipe goes in the opposite direction of marinara sauce: clean, citrus, buttery, fragrant white wine sauce. It’s lighter than marinara, so it goes well with light pasta. I made my bucatini from scratch and it was a bit thicker than I would have liked, but all in all still came together perfectly. You can pair this with angel hair, linguine, or spaghetti as well. And by all means, if you’d like to add more fish you can! Just make sure to double the sauce recipe.

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Seared Scallops over Bucatini with White Wine Sauce

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• ½ pound Bucatini fresh or dry (can also substitute angel hair, linguine, or spaghetti)
• 1 pound sea scallops
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cut dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh parsley minced (leave some for topping)

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. While making scallops & sauce, cook pasta 5-8 minutes, drain and set aside.
2. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel on both sides. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Heat a medium sized skillet on medium-high heat and add 2 tsp of the olive oil. When the pan is hot, add scallops. Do not touch them, just let them cook for about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Scallops should be browned and slightly firm to the touch. Take them out and keep hot on a plate.
3. Lower the heat of the pan, add in garlic and the remaining olive oil. When fragrant, about 1 minute, add in butter, white wine, and broth. Bring this to a simmer and let it cook and reduce for a few minutes. Add in fresh parsley & season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add pasta to the skillet with sauce and toss to coat. Divide among dishes, top with scallops, remaining sauce, parsley, & even some grated cheese!