Shoulda Been Scampi...

Wednesday came along and I had a great idea for dinner: scampi with cute little bay scallops (instead of shrimp). Jerry and I looove garlic and lemon and it had been a while since we had pasta, so it was perfect. I also had some broccoli that would go great on the side.
When I met my friend Kristin at the gym at 6:30 I realized I forgot to stop at the fish counter after work! While I was meandering on the treadmill, I racked my brain to think of what I had at home that would work with pasta. I knew I had the broccoli, which would go great with the garlic and lemon. A few random plum tomatoes? A can of artichokes packed in water that had been in my cupboard for quite a while?
Pasta primavera!
I sauteed four large cloves of minced garlic in about three tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. I added the broccoli and then a few minutes later the artichoke hearts. I added the roughly chopped tomatoes a minute before the al dente pasta, a half pound of spaghetti rigate. Rigate just means "with lines". I like rigate pasta when I make an oil based sauce, the pasta seems to hold more sauce.

Jerry had his with the grilled chicken hiding in the background.

I poured the juice of three large lemons over the pasta and tossed. It looked a little dry so I added another drizzle of oil and 1/2 cup of the water I cooked the pasta in.
Then came the fresh herbs, basil and parsley.

And of course some freshly grated imported pecorino romano. If you have never bought a hunk of cheese and grated it yourself, I highly recommend you try it. One more minute and it was done. Super fast dinner.

I loved the broccoli and lemon in this. It would have been great with zucchini, too. This is another dish where you can pretty much just toss in whatever you have on hand.
Tonight we are headed out for a few drinks because Maria is in town! Enjoy your Friday night, friends!