Sea Scallops with Artichoke Cream Sauce

To all my  readers, I hope you had a happy and safe Fourth of July and took some time to perfect some American Recipes and cook with friends and family! Though this dish was not made on the Fourth of July, it was yesterday's meal. I had two rather large Artichokes in the fridge and a can of Artichoke Hearts in the cupboard. My plan was to make a Spinach and Artichoke dip however I ate all the Spinach as I had forgotten about the dip! So Now what to do with these things?  Make a sauce of course!

For a lot of people including myself Artichokes are scary to work with. There spinney, and they have this hairy choke in the core of the vegetable. Who would have looked at this thing and said "Yes I think I can eat that?" I remember the first time I cooked an Artichoke. It was in the 7th grade Home Economics Class, I was the only one who tried it when the teacher was finished cooking them. At first, you will feel that they are a lot of work but when you get the hang of cooking them it becomes quick and easy! Best of all you do get a wow factor when you use this vegetable at a dinner party. People don't expect it!  This recipe serves two however we had leftover sauce.

Ingredients
1/2 lb of pasta (your choice)
6 Sea Scallops (three per person)
1 can of Artichoke Hearts
1/2 package of diced Pancetta
1/4 cup of olive oil plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup of cream
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon of marjoram
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (use as much as you like)
2 teaspoons of pepper


Special Equipment

Blender



Directions.

1. Begin to cook your pasta as directed on the package. In a pan, drizzle in 1tablespoon of olive oil and add your Pancetta to a cold pan and cook on medium heat until crispy. Once crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Leave the Pancetta fat in your pan ,add your garlic to the pan. Ruff chop your Artichoke Hearts and add it to the pan. Add salt, pepper, marjoram and lemon to your Artichoke Hearts.  Cook until warm through.

3. Take half of your Artichoke Heart mixture and put it in the blender. Blend together the Artichoke Hearts, with your olive oil, and cream. Transfer the cream sauce back to your pan and mix  with the rest of the Artichoke Hearts. 

*Cooks Note* If your Artichoke Cream becomes two thick, you can either add  a few tablespoons of water or cream to the blender.

4. Place your Sea Scallops in the sauce and place a lid on the pan. Let the sauce simmer and steam the scallops for about 5-7 minutes.

*Cooks Note* If you Artichoke Cream Sauce is still two thick after you have added it to the pan, take some of your pasta water and add a few tablespoons to the pan before adding your Sea Scallops.

5. Once your pasta is al dente, drain and plate. Take the Artichoke Cream Sauce and pour over the pasta. Add the Panchetta as a garnish.