Pasta with Crisped Prosciutto, Asparagus and Scallops

Pasta with Crisped Prosciutto, Asparagus and Scallops is fresh and light and comes together in just 20 minutes. You’ll love the light cream sauce flavored with crisped prosciutto. Great for a week night dinner but fancy enough for company. 

While loving pasta, I am not a huge red sauce fan and most other sauces are too rich and heavy to eat very often. This sauce has great flavor from the prosciutto and only a little cream. The sauce, while memorable, won’t overpower the delicate scallops.

I used fresh local asparagus from the farmer’s market, but even in the middle of winter this is a great dish. I also try to use the best prosciuttto since it will add so much flavor to the sauce. This was really quick to put together, just be prepared to serve it right away so the scallops don’t get cold.

To pull this off, cook the asparagus first and set it aside. Then while you are cooking the pasta, make the sauce. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot and pour the sauce on top with the asparagus.  Toss the pasta with the sauce and cover the pot to keep it warm while you cook the scallops. They only take a couple of minutes. As soon as they’re done, you can serve it immediately and your pasta will still be hot.

This dish only takes about 20 minutes and you have a fabulous dish for family or friends.

Adapted from Gather and Dine

Pasta with Crisped Prosciutto, Aspargaus and Scallops

Pasta with Crisped Prosciutto, Asparagus and Scallops is fresh and light and comes together in just 20 minutes. You’ll love the light cream sauce flavored with crisped prosciutto. Great for a week night dinner but fancy enough for company. 

• Author: Barbara Curry
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Entree

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus , ends trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inc lengths
• 1 lb pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb scallops
• salt and pepper
• 4 ounces prosciutto, diced
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions

• 1. Bring a pot of water to boil and add asparagus, boil for 3-5 minutes or until slightly crisp. Drain and set aside.
  2. Bring fresh water to a boil and add pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
  3. In a skillet over medium heat, add prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove 1/4 cup for topping. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes, add garlic to the skillet and cook for an additional minute. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits. Boil and reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Add cream and reserved pasta water and stir to combine. cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Add to the pot with the pasta, add asparagus and toss to coat.
  4. Dry scallops with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add scallops one at a time and sear until browned on one side, 3-4 minutes. Turn and sear for another 2-3 minutes.
  5. Top pasta with scallops and sprinkle with reserved prosciutto.