My mom's dill pasta recipe was a happy accident turned family favorite because when I was younger, my mom bought a jar of dried dill thinking it was a different herb. Instead of throwing it all away because she wasn't sure what to use it on, she threw it over some pasta, drizzled in some oil and tossed it together. I loved it the first time I had it and I still love it to this day. It's simple, bright, and herbaceous. After doing some testing to this recipe, I found that using fresh dill wasn't the best option. Although the flavor profile was obviously much more pronounced, the fresh dill sadly stuck together in clumps. So in order to amp up my mom recipe, I threw in some scallops to add in some protein but still trying to keep the dish light and simple. Searing them in butter, minced garlic, and a heavy squeeze of lemon really brought the flavors of fresh dill to my mom dried dill pasta.
Lemony Dill Pasta w. Seared Garlic Scallops
Ingredients:
1 pound of spaghetti
4 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 - 3 tablespoons of dried dill
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & minced
10 - 12 fresh scallops
1 lemon, sliced & seeds removed
Dill to serve, optional
Instructions:
Start by cooking your pasta according to the directions on the back of the packaging.
Drain the pasta, and add in the extra virgin olive oil, dried dill, salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside & get started on your scallops
Next, drop in 1 tablespoon of oil to a pan on medium high. Once the oil starts to shimmer, drop in your scallops and sear on one side for 1 - 2 minutes.
Flip and sear the other side. Immediately, drop in 1 tablespoon of butter and chopped garlic and start basting your scallops. After the 1 minute is up, remove the scallops from the pan.
Set on top of your pasta and pour the garlic butter sauce right over top. Finish with some fresh dill if you have and enjoy!
Notes:
I sliced the lemon and picked out the seeds before I cooked it in the garlic butter sauce. However, if you don't want to spend time doing that then you can just squeeze in 1/2 a lemon and cook it for 1 - 2 minutes. I used fresh scallop but you can use whatever seafood you like. Shrimp or lobster works well with this pasta. However, if you want to omit the seafood all together, maybe some grilled chicken or tofu is more up your alley!