Bring a large pan of water to a boil, salt it generously (at least 1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water).1 tablespoon salt
Add the pasta and set a timer for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time. When draining the pasta reserving 1 cup (250ml) of the cooking liquid.14oz/400g dried pasta
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo, use a spatula to break it up in the pan, fry for 5 minutes, occasionally turning, until golden and crispy. (see note 2 if you have a cured chorizo sausage)¼ cup olive oil 2 cups raw chorizo sausage
Remove the chorizo from the frying pan, keeping the oil behind.
Ensure the scallops are dry by patting them with paper towel several times to remove any moisture. The top of the scallop should feel almost tacky.12 raw scallops
Season the scallops lightly with salt. Then carefully and quickly add the scallops to the fry pan. Do them individually, placing a scallop at the 12 o'clock position and then working around the outside of the pan. (see note 3)
Cook the scallops for 2 minutes on one side.
Use tongs to gently turn each scallop over, again starting at 12 o'clock and working around in the same order you added the scallops, and cook on the other side for a further 30 seconds. (see note 3)
Remove the scallops from the fry pan. Add in the garlic, paprika, Italian herbs, and pepper flakes (if using). Give this a good stir and then immediately add a ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the pan and bring to a simmer - season with salt and pepper.2 cloves garlic (crushed/grated) ½ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon Italian herbs ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Add the drained pasta and cooked chorizo, then toss to coat the pasta well in the oily sauce. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add ¼ cup more of the cooking water and keep stirring the pasta to coat. Test your pasta it should be perfectly cooked and well seasoned.
Serve the pasta with the scallops on top. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
A long pasta like spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, or fusilli lunghi works perfectly for this recipe! However, if you aren't a fan of the long pastas, then feel free to pick a smaller shape, ideally you want something that isn't tubular, so pick something like Farfalle (bowtie) or Orecchiette.
If you want to use a cured or semi-cured Spanish style chorizo sausage, then slice this into thick disks before frying in the olive oil.
Adding the scallops to the pan in order means you can turn them in order and don't end up with an overcooked scallop or an undercooked scallop. The clockface method is an easy one to follow. See this post for extra details and instructions: "How to Perfectly Pan Sear Scallops"