Drunken Seafood Pasta with Leeks & Bacon

This recipe is best if you have all of your prep done first; everything chopped and grated and boiled ahead of time, before you start cooking the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions for al dente in well-salted (but not oiled) water. Drain well and set aside.

Wash the leeks and trim off the dark green tops, then thinly slice it. Julienne the onion. Thinly slice the garlic. Seed and chop the tomatoes into a medium dice. Chop the basil and parsley. Cut the bacon into a medium dice.

In a cast iron skillet (or any large skillet), add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Over medium-high heat, when the butter is melted, add the shrimp and cook until browned on each side. The pan must be hot—you’re aiming to brown the seafood without over cooking it. When the shrimp are done, transfer to a dish and set aside. Add the scallops to the pan; cook until browned. Set aside with the shrimp.

Add the bacon to the skillet, turning the heat down just a little. When the bacon is beginning to brown, add the onions.

When the onions begin to caramelize, add the leeks. Allow to cook about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Season well with pepper and lightly with salt (the salt can’t be accurately adjusted until after the dish is mixed).

Add the white wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits. Let the mixture simmer until it has reduced by half (about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your pan is). Add 1.5 cups of the heavy cream (reserving the final 1/2 cup). Let the sauce reduce just a few minutes, until it begins to thicken. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir together and remove from the heat.

If your skillet isn’t big enough or if your skillet isn’t oven-proof, now is the time to transfer the sauce to an oven-proof dish.

Add the pasta, the tomatoes, and about 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well and add the herbs, the shrimp and the scallops. Zest the lemon over the dish. Mix well one last time, taste, and adjust the seasonings. It may need salt. If the pasta seems too dry or sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream.

Top with the juice of 1/2 of the lemon and the remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for approximately 10 minutes, just until the entire concoction is piping hot and the cheese is melted.

Best if served with a fresh crunchy salad and some fresh bread.