Pan-fried scallops with mexican corn salad

Have you ever had elote? It’s a holy trinity of corn, mayo, and cheese with chili powder and lime juice winning Best Supporting Actors in the action-packed biopic called “Myself, Eating.” It’s so good that even if you love butter as much as I love butter (by which I mean my favorite snack in high school was mixing butter and brown sugar together and putting it on a paper plate in the freezer for ten minutes and calling it ice cream, as if that made it legitimate) any corn on the cob not prepared as elote feels like a lost opportunity.

Elote, via flickr.

Eventually you get a little sleepy eating exclusively corn, so it’s important to throw some protein in there and maybe a green or two? This pulls together really quickly, in under half an hour but looks really beautiful and tastes amazing. If you’re a corner-cuttin’ McLazyslops like I was when I made this the second day in a row you can roast frozen corn in a cast iron skillet to the same effect.

Scallops with Mexican Corn Salad

(adapted from Food & Wine)

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
8 small ears of corn, husked
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons pure ancho chile powder
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Hot sauce
12 large sea scallops
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

Shuck the corn and cut off the kernels. Pan-fry in a little butter over moderate heat until charred and just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Whisk the mayonnaise and chile powder with the garlic, onion and lime juice. Add corn to the bowl and toss. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Top with feta.
Brush the scallops with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Fry over high heat until nicely browned and barely cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, turning with tongs.
Lay some baby greens on 4 plages, spoon the corn salad on top and finish with the scallops. Serve with lime wedges.

-Paulina