Scallops with Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad.
Simply seared scallops sit atop a fresh corn, tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. Summertime bliss in a bowl.
This is an elegant, yet very simple dish. And one of our favorite summer meals. You can make the corn salad a day before you’re ready to sear the scallops. So, when it comes time for dinner, this dish can be on the table in 10 minutes.
Look at all those summer flavors in a bowl!
Simple, quick dinners have been even more key for us since August when we welcomed our precious little angel, Lucca, into this world. We’re all trying to get into a routine and figure each other out – feeding schedules and all.
Dinner now looks a bit different than it did before Lucca, but we still make a point to sit down together for dinner each night, with the little babe next to us in his bassonnette. I now go to bed very early (around 8pm), since I am up 4-5 times throughout the night to feed the little guy, so dinners need to be light and on the table in less than 20 minutes. Because of this, we’ve been making many salads – especially corn salads, that can be made in larger quantities to last for days.
We’ve also been eating a lot of seafood (scallops, lobster, squid, fish of all kinds), as usual, because we get THE freshest seafood on the Cape and it cooks so quickly. Adrian has even gotten his grilled lobster specialty down to a science and can get those lobsters on the table in 15 minutes flat. The recipe for those grilled lobsters in a future post. They’re THE BEST.
These day boat scallops are favorites in our house. And they cook in mere minutes. This simple dinner combines succulent, barely seared local scallops with summery sweet corn, tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. Dinner is ready in a flash and mommy is off to bed before the clock strikes 8pm (gasp!).
Here’s how to make this elegant, but simple scallop dish:
Scallops with Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad
Ingredients
For the corn salad
- 5 ears corn, shucked
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved we used tomatoes from our garden
- 8 ounce pearl mozzarella balls or use marinated mozzarella balls
- 1/2 cup basil, slivered*
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the scallops
- 1 lb sea scallops, patted dry (Dry packed)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon neutral oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pot filled halfway with water over high heat until boiling. Add corn, cover, reduce heat and lightly boil for 5 minutes. Remove corn from pot and let cool slightly. Once able to handle, slice the corn off the cobs into a large bowl.
- Add tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, rice vinegar and olive oil to the bowl with the corn. Toss to combine. Set aside.
- Season scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a medium sauté pan with butter and oil over medium high heat until butter is melted and pan is hot. Swirl pan and add scallops. Don’t crowd the scallops – cook in two batches if need be. Sear scallops for a minute or two (until desired doneness) on each side until a nice golden crust forms (do not move scallops until you flip them). Remove from heat.
- Plate corn salad and place scallops atop the salads.
- Serve with a nice crusty baguette.
Notes
- Salad can be made a day in advance. And you’ll probably want to double or triple the batch, as you’ll want to enjoy this salad over and over.
- *If making salad ahead of time, add basil just prior to serving.
Nutrition
PIN this summer scallop salad recipe for later:
This post was originally published in 2015, but has been updated with new images.
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