Seared Sea Scallops with Pink Sauce and Corn Sautee
A beautiful colorful combination that is perfect for a summer dinner. The sauces and bright yellow corn mixture are super festive!
I like to buy the biggest scallops possible. And best of all are those with a pinkish color. They are females, and have the nicest flavor. Serves 4.
Ingredients
12 scallops
1 large lemon or 2 small lemons
3/4 cup white wine
handful of Italian parsley leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
tiny tomatoes for garnish (optional)
fresh corn saute (optional: recipe below)
pink sauce for garnish (optional: recipe below)
green pesto oil (optional: recipe below)
Instructions
Dry the scallops before cooking by gently blotting them with a paper towel.
Bring a heavy 12-inch skillet to high heat. Do not use a non-stick pan. Pour in 1/8-inch olive oil and add salt and pepper. It should be hot enough that the pepper actually sizzles.
Gently put about 6 scallops into the pan, being careful not to get burned by the splatters. The scallops should not be touching.
Don’t move them until they’re golden on the bottom. If you turn them too soon, the crust will stick to the pan rather than the scallop. The minute they loosen, their crust should be golden, and you can turn them.
As soon as the second side is barely golden, remove and place them on a plate with paper towels. Repeat for the rest of the scallops.
After removing the last scallops, keep high heat on the skillet and make a sauce by adding the juice of a lemon, a handful of chopped Italian parsley, and 1/2 cup of white wine. It will splatter alarmingly, but stay with it. After the liquids boil down furiously or 3 minutes, add 3 tablespoons of butter and whisk while the mixture continues to bubble.
When the sauce is reduced and has thickened slightly, put the scallops on a plate add fresh corn saute along the side. Decorate the plate with the pink sauce and green pesto oil, and add some tiny tomatoes if they are available.
Fresh Corn Saute
1 onion, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 ears corn, kernels removed from the cobs
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
5 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
Saute the onion, jalapeno and red bell pepper in the butter.
Add the corn. Cook until the corn is just cooked. Do not overcook this.
Add lemon zest, cilantro and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.
Pink Sauce
Into a food processor, put 1 cup of mayonnaise (not low fat), 2 tablespoons of chiles in adobo sauce, salt, and the juice from half a lemon.
Blend until smooth.
Put into a small plastic squirt bottle. Use to garnish the scallops. This can be refrigerated for later use with crab cakes, veggies, salads, or just about anything!
Green Pesto Oil
Combine 1/4 cup of prepared basil pesto with 4 tablespoons olive oil using a whisk. Put mixture into a squeeze bottle and use to garnish the dish. Any leftovers can be refrigerated and used later on other dishes.