One of my all-time favorite sauces will always be a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce served over pasta…sigh. Add in scallops and shrimp and you’ve got a restaurant-style meal that you can prepare at half the price of ordering out.
I’ve been making this sauce since my restaurant days back in the eighties and it’s been unchanged since I perfected this recipe almost 40 years ago.
Let’s get started by making the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
What do I need to make a Roasted Red Pepper?
The ingredient list isn’t too long for my roasted pepper sauce, but does include a few items you might not have thought of. The juice from reconstituting the sun-dried tomatoes and the liquid from the pepperoncini jar.
**The liquids from the ingredients help develop the flavors of this delicious sauce.
The first step is pureeing the roasted peppers and adding them to a medium sized sauce pan.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a light boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and allow to continue cooking for about an hour.
*make the sauce the day before to allow the flavors to build.
What ingredients do I need to make Shrimp & Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Shrimp & Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
In a large sauté pan add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, and saute the scallops for a minute to get them started with the cooking process.
Add the shrimp and mushrooms. Sauté until the shrimp are almost done (you may have to add a little more oil to the pan when you put in the shrimp).
Do I have to use mushrooms in the sauce?
No, you don’t. Feel free to leave out the mushrooms, pepperoncini or sun-dried tomatoes. They are not essential to the dish but do contribute to the overall flavor of the dish.
When the seafood is almost fully cooked add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini and the roasted red pepper sauce
Finish seasoning the dish with black pepper, grated Romano cheese and parsley.
Do I have to make this dish with seafood?
No, you don’t. This sauce works well with chicken. In the restaurant I use to serve it with chicken and shrimp to keep the costs down.
The sauce is also great without and seafood or other proteins in it. You could also add some of your favorite veggies to the sauce.
I’ve also served this sauce with beef braciole and it was wonderful.
Serve up deliciousness over your favorite pasta and get ready for the applause!
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!
Shrimp and Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
Roasted Pepper Sauce
- 28 oz roasted red peppers pureed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Romano cheese
- 4 oz liquid from reconstituting sun-dried tomatoes (tomatoes should soak at least one hour)
- 2 oz liquid from peppercini jar
- 2 oz brandy or bourbon
- 1 tbsp sugar
Shrimp & Scallops with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- 1 lb shrimp 16-20 count
- 1 lb sea scallops large
- 12 oz mushrooms sliced
- 1 oz white wine optional
- 4 ounces sun-dried tomato reconstituted, reserve the liquid
- 12 peperoncini save some of the juice from the jar
- 8 artichoke sliced (in brine not marinated in oil)
- 4 cups roasted pepper sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb pasta your choice
Instructions
Roasted Pepper Sauce
- Puree the roasted red peppers until they are as smooth as possible. Add to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to a slow boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to continue cooking for 1 hour.*making the sauce a day ahead of time will enhance the flavor. You can make the pepper sauce up to 3 days ahead of time. This sauce also freezes well.
Shrimp & Scallops with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Cook your pasta per box instructions, start when you begin to sauté the shrimp and scallops., it should be done about the same time you finish the sauce
- In a large sauté pan add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, and saute the scallops for a minute to get them started with the cooking process.
- Add the shrimp and mushrooms. Sauté until the shrimp are almost done (you may have to add a little more oil to the pan when you put in the shrimp).
- Add a splash of white wine to de-glaze the pan. (optional)
- Add the peperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and roasted pepper sauce.
- bring to a light boil and serve over the pasta of your choice.*if the sauce seems too thick, add a little more of the juice from sun-dried tomatoes, cream or water from the pasta to thin it out.
- Serve with additional grated Romano cheese and enjoy!
Neha
Shrimp is one of my most favorites and I have some in pantry right now. Totally giving this amazing recipe a go!
Jamie
This was a delicious meal for dinner tonight! My whole family is a fan of seafood so we really enjoyed this dish. The seafood was perfect and the sauce was delicious!
Sam
Yum, I love everything seafood. This shrimp and scallops dish looks amazing. I love that it is so quick and easy to make too. Perfect for a busy weeknight. Thank you!
Daniela
This red pepper sauce sounds so divine! I want to make if for so many other dishes though your shrimp and scampi sound wonderful too! Thanks so much for sharing :).
Monica
I completely agree, Dennis – roasted red pepper sauce is a gift from above! I love the idea of combining it with seafood – totally an elegant combination I would envision at a nice restaurant, but do-able at home to be sure!
Ramona
I love both shrimps and scallops and when they are put together, its even better! I love the fact that this dish contains both seafood and spice, it couldn’t get even better than this. My mouth is watering over the thought of this dish in front of me. I love how you added red pepper sauce, the flavours of the whole dish would really come together! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This looks Incredibly delicious. I have to make this Roasted Shrimp and Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce soon for my family!