Scallops with Linguine and Lemony Pangrattato

I adore scallops (Coquilles St Jacques), although usually, I have to resort to eating them at restaurants. You see, hubby is a great eater, but when it comes to seafood, he can be rather picky. Not with everything, mainly with shellfish. I'm still waiting for the day when he'll devour a plate of oysters with me. Now I know that day will come, believe me (he now eats blue cheese without the slightest protest), but convincing him to try certain things, sometimes involves a certain level of 'my way or the highway'.
These last couple of days, a recipe kept popping into my head and unfortunately (or fortunately) it included scallops. What to do with Mr. Picky? The only solution (as usual in these cases) was to just go and get the ingredients, get cooking and present the dish without any further comments. "Here you go, eat." 
Before you accuse me of being mean, let me assure you that the meal was thoroughly enjoyed. Better yet, those plates were polished off with total and utter relish. Another gastronomic obstacle overcome for hubby. Another victory for me.
The moral of the story? Cook with pleasure, cook with love and no one will be able to resist whatever you put in front of them. Even a picky husband. A nice bottle of wine to pair beautifully with your dish should also help.

Scallops with Linguine and Lemony Pangrattato
Serves 3

For the pangrattato:
2 slices of stale whole wheat bread, torn
6 slices of bacon
grated rind of one organic, unwaxed lemon
small bunch of parsley
2 cloves of garlic
few drops of lemon juice
pinch of fleur de sel
good grinding of pepper
knob of butter
mild olive oil
For the linguine and scallops:
300g linguine
300g scallops
knob of butter
mild olive oil
plenty of freshly-cracked pepper
pinch of fleur de sel
100ml dry white wine
50ml cream
small handful of grated Gruyère
1/2 a handful of grated Parmesan
lemon wedges, to serve

Start by bringing a pan of salted water to the boil for your pasta. Then, make the pangrattato. In a dry frying pan, cook your bacon slices until crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and allow to cool. Put all of the ingredients for the pangrattato (including the bacon, which you should crumble) into the food processor. Blitz until you have a nicely rough but not too chunky consistency. Clean your frying pan, heat the butter and oil and fry the pangrattato for approximately 5 minutes until golden and crisp. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

By this time your water should be boiling, so cook your linguine al dente (I always give it a minute or two less than it states on the package).

Pat the scallops dry, season with plenty of pepper and a dash of salt. Heat the butter and oil and fry the scallops for approximately 4-5 minutes, turning them now and again.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Transfer the scallops to a plate (keep them warm) and deglaze the pan with the wine. Let it bubble for a minute before adding the cream and stirring in the cheese. Add the drained pasta to the sauce with the reserved water.

To serve, divide the pasta over each plate, top with the pangrattato, the scallops and a wedge of lemon. A fleshy Chardonnay will make this dish soar!