FoodNuts!

There are certain comfort foods that you just crave sometimes. One of mine is a twist between a traditional Italian dish my mom made and my dad’s love of seafood.

My mom used to make spaghetti with garlic and oil. It was a lot of carbs.  So I’m not sure when, but my dad and I started topping the pasta with scallops. My mom didn’t like seafood, so it was a meal we could all make and then mix up to fit our individual tastes. Sometimes I also add broccoli to it.

And, now it really makes a great dish for when my Dad’s at my house  — like tonight.  I make the oil sauce and scallops separately, and then divide it evenly over regular thin spaghetti for my dad and whole wheat thin spaghetti for me.

It’s a pretty easy recipe that can be modified depending on how much pasta you are making. I do the sauce for a half pound of spaghetti and then make 1/4 pound regular and 1/4 pound whole wheat.

Take 1/3 cup olive oil and heat it in a pan. Then add one head of garlic that has been minced. Let cook for about two minutes on medium heat. Add one chopped tomato, 1/2 a teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon basil and 1/8 crushed hot pepper flakes and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, take several tablespoons of Smart Balance, about a tablespoon of olive oil, a head of chopped garlic, about 6 ounces of white zinfandel and several splashes of lemon juice.

Heat over medium heat until the Smart Balance is melted and add one pound scallops. Cook about 10 minutes.

While that is all cooking, I throw in a 1/4 pound each of regular spaghetti and whole wheat in separate pots of boiling water. Once the pasta is drained and back in the pot, I split the oil and garlic mixture into both pots of the thin spaghetti. Mix really, really well.

Put the pasta on the plates and using a slotted spoon divide up the scallops placing them on top of the pasta.

I paired the dish with a chardonnay from the Saratoga Winery and my cheese breadsticks.

My dad likes to add a little salt to taste, but that’s really a personal preference.

Enjoy!!!!

Michelle

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