Scallops on squid ink pasta

Famously outspoken Italian-American cookery writer and teacher, Marcella Hazan, thinks squid ink pasta is an abomination, but I (and quite a few chefs) like the way its jet-black colour contrasts with other ingredients on the plate.
This week, I am topping it with vivid red capsicum and gleaming white scallops.
The dish will work just as well, of course, with pasta of a more conventional colour, but the effect will be far less dramatic.
I have listed the fennel bulb as optional, but its aniseedy flavour does add something special to the dish. Track it down if you can. Like the equally hard-to-find black pasta, it's worth the search.
A more economical version of the dish can be made using squid in place of the scallops. Cross-hatch the inside of the tubes, then cut them into 3cm squares and toss into a pot of boiling water. Remove as soon as the squares curl, then add them to the hot vegetables just before the mixture is spooned over the pasta.
Serves 4 as a generous starter
20 scallops
4 handfuls (about 120g) squid ink tonnarelli pasta
2 Tbsps grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 red capsicum, chopped; stems, seeds, ribs discarded
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
1cm piece ginger, peeled, chopped
Half a fennel bulb, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Trim the hard "boot' from each scallop; it's usually opposite the pink roe. Boil a large pot of salted water. Add pasta and cook for 9-11 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frypan, add capsicum, shallots, ginger and fennel bulb, if using. Cook, stirring often, on a medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent but not at all brown. Push the vegetables to the pan's edge, add the scallops and cook for 30 seconds each side, or a little longer if they are large. Season to taste.
Drain pasta, adding a tablespoon or two of the cooking water to the frypan. Pile the pasta into four warmed bowls, top with the scallop mixture and serve. If you prefer pasta with sauce, stir a little sour cream into the scallop and vegetable mixture and reduce slightly just before serving.
Wine match
Two recent releases from one of Marlborough's most successful wine companies go wonderfully well with this dish.
Hunter's Kahu Roa Winemaker's Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2007 works because, in constrast to most of the genre, it has spent time in oak barrels (kahu roa translates as barrel aged). The resulting savoury notes complement the pasta behind citrus edged capsicum characters that match the dish's vegetable component.
Hunter's Marlborough Riesling 2008 has floral and lemon rind aromas leading to crisp-edged rich fruit flavours that bring out the best in the scallops. You should pay less than $25 for the sauvignon blanc and around $20 for the riesling.