Blush Bay Scallop Penne
with Parmesan & Lemon
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Milk
- Wheat
If you think beautifully cooked scallops are only achievable with a dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant, think again! Here, you’ll master the art of the perfect sear, cooking the scallops in butter until they form a caramelized, golden crust. They’re tossed into a creamy blush sauce with al dente penne noodles, then topped with Parmesan and a little minced chili for customizable heat. Our compliments to the chef… oh yeah, that’s you!
Ingredients
¼ cup
Parmesan Cheese
1 unit
Seafood Stock Concentrate
(Contains: Fish, Shellfish)
1 unit
Tomato Paste
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Lemon
6 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Tomato
2 unit
Scallions
1 unit
Chili Pepper
10 ounce
Jumbo Sea Scallops
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry all produce. • Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Peel and finely chop garlic. Dice tomato. Mince chili. Zest and quarter lemon. • Pat scallops* dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
• While pasta cooks, heat 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) and a drizzle of oil in a large pan over high heat. Once pan is very hot, add scallops; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 2-3 minutes. • Transfer to a plate. Remove pan from heat to cool for 1 minute, then return to medium heat.
• Add 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings), scallion whites, and garlic to pan used for scallops; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Add tomato and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until just softened, 2-3 minutes. TIP: If you like things spicy, stir in half the chili. • Stir in tomato paste, cream cheese, stock concentrate, and ¼ cup plain water (1⁄3 cup for 4) until combined. • Add half the Parmesan (save the rest for serving) and stir until melted. Remove pan from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
• Once pasta is drained, return pan with sauce to medium heat; add drained penne, scallops (discard any excess liquid on plate), lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon juice. • Toss, adding splashes of reserved pasta cooking water as needed, until everything is coated in a creamy sauce, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta between bowls and top with scallion greens, remaining Parmesan, and chili to taste. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy blush sauce with lemon and chili, though some found it overpowered the delicate scallops.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, with clear instructions for first-time scallop cooks.
- Suggestions: Consider adding green veggies like peas or spinach; some preferred larger scallops or shrimp.
- Portions: Several found it small; doubling pasta and veggies while keeping sauce amount worked well.
- Leftovers: Flavors melded nicely, but scallops didn't reheat as well as the pasta.
Reviews from our home cooks
Pretty good but the firm penne texture didn't mesh very well with the sorta bouncy scallops. Perhaps a smaller pasta would match better, or go completely the other way and make it with fettucine or capellini noodles. Also the scallops released a ton of liquid in the pan and there was no tip on draining it away. The scallops would have been hard little erasers if I had cooked them until the liquid boiled off.
I can't believe we got to choose a scallop meal from the regular menu. What a treat! And boy was it good. Love the blush sauce. This was quick and easy and tasted amazing. No leftovers with this one.
A solid choice. Before the scallions and parmesan cheese it was a lil lemony. I like lemon, so it was cool. After the cheese and scallions, it became a different meal. They all blended well together.
WOWEE wow wow this was good! Admittedly I overcooked the scallops as I tend to prep as I go and didn't think that would be the demise of the shellfish, but the deglazing of the butter from the pan where the scallops cooked really elevates the blush sauce!
I thought I did not like scallops. This recipe was so good--the lemon really makes it sing--and it turns out that I do like them!
I wasn't so sure about the scallops, but the chili and the lemon made it great! I also threw in some peas to give it a fresh lil green pop.
I must have forgotten to comment, but i actually made this yummy dish the very night i received it!! The scallops were so very tender and moist. Living here in Va Beach, and knowing about sea life, I could tell these were actual bay scallops too.
This was delicious and easy to make. Only feedback was that I expected the scallops to be a little larger. Also, to get a good sear on the scallop there would need to be less liquid in the pan than what the recipe calls for.
This was our first time ever cooking scallops, and the recipe was very easy to follow. The meal was delicious, and there was even enough left over for my husband to take to work for lunch. Home run meal.
Pretty good. I would say that the sauce is the best part. Personally, I had to add sausage to it as extra protein because the scallops were not enough in comparison to the amount of pasta. Otherwise, easy to make. Pretty straight forward and yummy. I opted to use all of the parmesan cheese in the sauce and totally forgot to save some pasta water to add later on but that didn't seem to be an issue.
