Time For A Celebration!
Succulent Sea Scallops With Corn, Chard And Chilis
You can replace the chard with spinach or any hardy leafy vegetable like beet or radish greens, and it would balance out the sweetness of the corn with a delightful touch of bitterness.
Ingredients
Prep Your Vegetables
- 2 ears of corn shucked
- 6 cups Swiss chard chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- juice of half a lemon
- zest of half a lemon
- salt and pepper
Make The Sauce
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon crushed Calabrian Chili Peppers
- 1 tablespoon capers minced
- juice of half a lemon
- zest of half a lemon
For the Scallops
- 1 tablespoon safflower or grapeseed oil, or any oil that can take a high heat. Not olive oil.
- 15 large sea scallops
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil minced
Instructions
Prep Your Vegetables, Citrus, Herbs, And Scallops
- Put a large pot of salted water on to boil, and cook the corn for 7 minutes. Remove from the hot water and cool under cold water. Drain and shave the kernels off the corn into planks and let them rest on a small plate.
- Wash and pat dry the Swiss chard leaves, and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a large bowl.
- Mince 6 cloves of garlic, divide equally into two dishes, half for vegetables, half for sauce.
- Zest a whole lemon, divide equally into two dishes, half for vegetables, half for sauce.
- Juice a whole lemon, divide equally into two dishes, half for vegetables, half for sauce.
- Wash, blot dry, and mince the basil and put on small plate.
- Remove the scallops from the wrapper onto a large plate, and blot them dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
Make The Sauce
- Melt the butter in a mircrowave safe dish lightly covered with a paper towel to prevent splattering, or in a pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the garlic, Calabrian chilis, capers, lemon and zest, and season lightly with salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.
Cook The Vegetables
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high. Saute the chard and half of the minced garlic in the oil and let cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened to your liking. Add in the cooked corn and mix around a bit. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and place into the bowl you just had it in.
Cook The Scallops
- Take that frying pan you were just using for the vegetables, and heat the safflower oil over medium high heat. Lay the scallops in the pan with their salt and peppered side facing down. Salt and pepper the side that is facing up. Cook the scallops without disturbing them until nicely seared around 3 to 4 minutes on each side depending on their size, being careful not to overcook them. Remove from the pan onto a plate.
- Reheat the greens and corn again just until warmed through, and zap the sauce in the microwave for 20 seconds to reheat. Divide and arrange the vegetable mixture in the center of 3 plates. Top with 5 scallops on each plate, drizzle with the sauce, and top it all off with minced basil.
- This makes an outstanding dish for any celebration.
What a great sear on those scallops. Beautiful presentation and the recipe sounds divine!
That’s so sweet – thanks Deb! Let me know if you give it a try!
These scallops look so yummy! Thanks for this great recipe Don! Can’t wait to try it. Your picture is beautiful!!
Thanks so much for your kind comments and support – I really appreciate it!