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Asian Pesto With Orecchiette Pasta And Scallops


This is Asian Pesto With Orecchiette Pasta and Scallops. You might want to know that there is no cheese and pine nuts in the pesto. Besides using the pesto with pasta, you can also serve it as a dip with chips or with grilled chicken, which incidentally is another of my favorites. Just lightly season the chicken with pesto before grilling and serve it with salad or as a sandwich.


Asian Pesto With Orecchiette Pasta And Scallops
(Printable Recipe)

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.
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Comments

  1. test it commJanuary 9, 2010 at 4:41 AM

    An Asian themed pesto is a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmyJanuary 9, 2010 at 7:35 AM

    That pesto looks incredible. I am not a big pasta eater, but will be making that for chicken and seafood.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cooking with MicheleJanuary 9, 2010 at 8:18 AM

    Love the sounds of that pesto and can't wait to try it (in the spring when I have basil again!). I never add cheese to my pesto - which I make in batches and freeze in the fall - that way I can decide what type of cuisine it goes into later and add cheese if needed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LaurenJanuary 9, 2010 at 1:22 PM

    this looks so beautiful and it sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Food LibrarianJanuary 9, 2010 at 3:48 PM

    Oh....what deliciousness! Asian pesto. Awesome. Love all those flavors together. Yum! - mary

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShelleJanuary 11, 2010 at 12:16 AM

    That looks positively scrumptious. Do you think the consistency would be roughly equivalent if pecans or almonds were used instead of walnuts (walnut allergy being a problem in my family)? And are you using regular Basil or Thai Basil? I'm going to have to try this. num num num...

    ReplyDelete
  7. webroyaltyJanuary 11, 2010 at 2:04 AM

    Your comments awesome and very informative.
    I like it very much. Keep up the good work.

    webroyalty

    ReplyDelete
  8. nandiniJanuary 11, 2010 at 2:39 AM

    I am obsessed with pesto.. Asian pesto sounds great!. Shall try soon!.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lori LynnJanuary 11, 2010 at 12:57 PM

    Congrats on Top 9!
    I love your pesto recipe.
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2010 at 5:58 AM

    Whoa! Sounds delicious, but super spicy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lisa HoJanuary 12, 2010 at 6:23 PM

    very interesting and looks yummy...

    ReplyDelete
  12. NommsvilleJanuary 12, 2010 at 9:46 PM

    Fabulous idea - looks great! Can't wait to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Angie TeeJanuary 14, 2010 at 6:43 PM

    @Shelle : I think Pecan might have a similar consistency. I used the regular sweet basil for this recipe.

    ReplyDelete

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