Linguine with Bay Scallops, Fennel, and Tomatoes

I love trying recipes from the Fast, Easy, Fresh section of Bon Appetit because if they turn out great, then I have another recipe to add to my "quick and easy" rotation. These are the dishes that I know will take no time at all to cook, I know all the ingredients by heart, and I know that they will taste good. Things like my mom's cauliflower and pork, eggplant and pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and scallions, fried rice, buffalo chicken. Sometimes you just crave a home-cooked meal and these certainly do the trick!

Anyway, this was a great "quick and easy" recipe. I was a little iffy about the fennel because I'm not a big fan of the licorice taste, but it wasn't too strong and I substituted a dry white wine for the anise-flavored liqueur. The lemon and the parsley add a lot to the overall taste, so try to use fresh parsley if possible. The market was out of bay scallops at the time, so I just used regular scallops.

Bon Appetit Recipe: Linguine with Bay Scallops, Fennel, and Tomatoes

Ingredients

* 8 ounces linguine
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 medium fennel bulb, halved, very thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
* 1 medium onion, halved, thinly sliced
* 1 pound bay scallops
* 1 6-ounce container cherry tomatoes, halved if large
* 1 tablespoon Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur
* 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
* 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Preparation

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel and onion; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until wilted but crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to medium bowl.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add scallops and sauté until just opaque in center, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with fennel-onion mixture. Add tomatoes to skillet and sauté until heated through, about 2 minutes. Return fennel-onion mixture and scallops to skillet. Mix in Pernod.

Add drained pasta to skillet; toss to coat, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Stir in 3 tablespoons chopped parsley and 1 tablespoon fennel fronds. Transfer to large shallow bowl, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.