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!
Robyn
This roasted pepper sauce sounds amazing, and adding shrimp to the mix too is an inspired idea!
Tasheena
I love this combination of these flavors. Looking forward to making this recipe.
Ice Cream n Sticky Fingers
Yum. This looks amazing. I haven’t had scallops but I wouldn’t know how to cook them if I bought them. Maybe I’ll grab a package next week and give this a try.
Swathi
This roasted red pepper sauce looks yum and versatile. Love the addition of shrimp there.
Nancy L
Mmmm…It is the season for roasted red peppers! We will be picking up a few bushels of peppers from Amish country and roasting the peppers over Labor Day weekend. I will definitely have to add this recipe to my menu. It looks delicious!
Heather
This roasted red pepper sauce looks amazing, especially with the seafood. Making ASAP!
Linda
Oh my! Like you, I also enjoy roasted red pepper sauce, especially over pasta like this. And I know I can keep eating this nonstop!
Amber Myers
My husband and kids like shrimp, so I might have to make this for them. I bet they’d be huge fans.
Pam Wattenbarger
I definitely need to try this in my kitchen soon with some chicken. It looks so good.
Emily
This roasted red pepper sauce looks so good, I want to put it on everything!! Thanks for sharing your tried and true recipe!
Sue
Wow, I want to try this for sure! Love the scallop and shrimp combo and that roasted red pepper sauce looks killer!
Andréa Janssen
I’m always trying to figure out what to do with scallops, until I found this great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Angela
I love shrimp, and this recipe is super delicious. The family loves it! Thank you
Lisa Jacoby
Looks so delicious! I can’t wait to make this!
Alexandra
So delicious and flavoursome – this was dinner, and will be made again very soon! We love the roasted red pepper sauce!