North Atlantic Sea Scallops with Creamy Corn and Red Pepper Coulis

Ingredients

¾ cup olive oil (refrigerated)
Coarse salt
12 U-10 Sea Scallops, Dry
Freshly ground white pepper
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
Lemon wedges
Micro cilantro or fresh cilantro leaves

Creamy Corn

3 ears corn (or 2 1/2 cups frozen corn, run under hot water to defrost)
1 cup heavy cream
4 Tablespoons Course Ground Yellow Corn Meal (toasted)
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

Bell Pepper Coulis

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
Course salt
¼ cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Creamy Corn

  1. Cut the kernels from the cobs. Scrape the cobs with the back of your knife to get out all the juice.
  2. Combine the corn, with the juices, and cream in a deep skillet or wide saucepan and season with salt and white pepper.
  3. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to keep at an active simmer and slowly add the cornmeal as you stir. Cook for about10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick. Keep warm.

Red Pepper Coulis

(makes about 3/4 cup)

  1. Heat a stainless steel saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan’s hot, add the oil, shallots, and garlic. Sauté, stirring, for about 1 minute. Then add the bell pepper, season with salt, and sauté, stirring often, until the pepper is starting to get tender, about 10 minutes. Don’t let the pepper brown.
  2. Pour in the wine and cook until the pan is just about dry.
  3. Scrape everything in the pan into a blender. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then process until smooth. Scrape the puree down. Turn the blender back on and pour in the vinegar and then the oil in a steady stream

Scallops

  1. Lightly season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Have a big spoon ready next to the stove as well as a few layers of paper towels.
  2. When the pan’s good and hot, cut 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces and add it to the skillet. When the butter is melted and has stopped sizzling, add the scallops, keeping the pieces to the side of the pan farthest away from you. Turn the heat down to medium.
  3. After about 30 seconds, cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces and add them to the skillet. As the butter melts, tilt and pull the skillet toward you and start basting the scallops, using that big spoon to pour the bubbling butter over the top. As you cook and baste, the butter will brown, and that nuttiness will flavor the scallops.
  4. Cook, basting constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Then turn the scallops over in the skillet and turn off the heat. Let them sit sit for 1 minute. You want the scallops to have a nice brown crust on one side and still me medium rare as carry-over heat will finish the cooking. Use a spatula and remove the scallops on to the paper towels.
  5. To serve, spread some of the creamy corn into the center of four dinner plates in a line. Arrange four scallops on the corn, surround with the coulis, and give each scallop a squirt of lemon. Garnish with micro cilantro if it is available or fresh cilantro leaves.