Panko Promises

Isn't this BEAUTIFUL?!?!

This has panko breadcrumbs in it, which I’ve never used before and Holy Cookbook!  They.are.amazing.  Panko, where have you been all my life?  Now I want to look for recipes that use it and eat them EVERY DAY!

So easy too!  I got the original recipe from the September 2011 issue of Real Simple but tweaked it a bit for ease and budget.

Step 1:  Take out 1 cup of frozen peas to start thawing.  If you spread them out on a plate they will defrost faster than a small cup or bowl.

Step 2:  Toss ½ cup of Panko breadcrumbs with a teaspoon of lemon zest and 1 Tbsp of EEVO, dash of salt & pepper.  Mix it well and then put it in the oven at 350 for 4 minutes, stir around a bit, and then another 4 minutes.

Step 2: Start cooking a box of linguine.  When you drain it, reserve about a cup of the liquid.  You won’t need this much but good to have just in case.

Step 3:  Sautee ½ to 1 lb of little scallops in EEVO.  Season as you go with a dash of salt & pepper.  These will cook REALLY fast.  The key to shellfish is not to overcook them, and these don’t turn like shrimp so you want to be careful not to overdo it.

Step 4.  Get a pot or a large saucepan (see pic below) and 3-4 TBsp of unsalted butter.  Melt and stir constantly until golden.  This is going to be your sauce.  Toss in the pasta, peas (if they aren’t done defrosting, you can stick them in the pasta water for a minute or two), scallops, a handful of chopped parsley,  a bit more salt to taste, about ¼ cup of the pasta water.  You might want to add more of the water depending on preference.  Remember the breadcrumbs?  Toss them in last, stir the pasta around a bit.  Feel free to drizzle in some more EEVO if you want.  Done!

It sounds like a lot reading this but really it’s not.  It was easy, fast and SO DELICIOUS.  It tasted like a restaurant meal.  I served it in the final post I cooked it in, family style.  Serve with a nice chilled Sauvignon Blanc (Australia makes some fantastic ones).