With the end of summer came the end of our summer garden. Up here at over 6,000 feet our growing season is pretty short, about late May to mid-September. We planted peapods this season for the first time and by the end of August they were hanging heavy on the vines. One first crop were ready for picking in July but we weren’t here so thankfully our second crop came through when we got back from our vacation. I now had bowls and bowls of peas that I hand-shucked. I froze one large Ziploc of them and kept the rest in the fridge, at the ready once I found some new recipes to try such as this one.

We used whole-wheat spaghetti for this recipe and I found that the sauce was thickening way too fast in the pan so I had to add a little more broth, twice, while the sauce thickened. I didn’t have chives so I subbed it out for some fresh parsley from my inside window garden. The rest was refreshing thanks to the lemon zest and juice and the peas popped juicily with each bite. The scallops were perfectly cooked just through. I would definitely make this recipe again! Here’s my creamy scallops with garden fresh peas and spaghetti:

Creamy Scallop & Pea Spaghetti

Recipe From: EatingWell, November/December 2007

Makes: 2 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
• 1/2 pound large dry sea scallops, (see Shopping Note)
• 1/4 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup clam juice, vegetable broth or fish stock
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup finely shredded Romano cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, pat scallops dry and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add clam juice to the pan. Whisk milk, flour, white pepper and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk the milk mixture into the clam juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Return the scallops and any accumulated juices to the pan along with peas and return to a simmer. Stir in the fettuccine, 1/4 Romano cheese, chives, lemon zest and juice until combined. Serve with the remaining cheese sprinkled on top.

Shopping Tip: Be sure to buy “dry” sea scallops (scallops that have not been treated with sodium tripolyphosphate, or STP). Scallops that have been treated with STP (“wet” scallops) have been subjected to a chemical bath and are not only mushy and less flavorful, but will not brown properly.

Shopping Tip: Some bottled clam juices are very high in sodium, so salt the recipe accordingly. We like the Bar Harbor brand. Look for it in the canned-fish section or the seafood department of your supermarket.