Food & Wine (June 2008)
We don't have a whole lot of experience grilling seafood. Most of the fish we cook -- and we cook quite a bit of fish -- is done on the stovetop or in the oven.
With grilling season upon us, we're trying to do as much cooking as possible on the grill, both to keep the heat outside (and believe us, it is hottttt outside) and also to become more adept at using the grill.
This recipe was very easy, and we were eager to try the combination of scallops, corn and cheese. But it's a recipe we probably won't be trying again anytime soon.
First, the good news: Grilling scallops is a cinch, and the smoky char you get from the grill is a delicious complement to the sweet firmness of the scallops.
But overall, we just found the combination of scallops and corn to be overpoweringly sweet. Maybe we just happened upon some especially sweet corn, but every bite of this dish was almost cloyingly candy-sweet. Perhaps we should have compensated by amping up the lime or the chili flavors.
The sweetness wasn't the only problem. If you're thinking about this as a main course, consider this: It's a LOT of the same tastes on one plate. Neither of us was able to finish our meal, as forkful after forkful of the same tastes just got kinda old.
Our advice? Turn this in to an appetizer. Serve just one or two scallops on a small bed of the corn salad -- and play around with the ingredients to minimize the sweetness.
You could end up with a knockout first course.
Grilled Scallops with Mexican Corn Salad
Food & Wine (June 2008)
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TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
SERVES: 4
Ingredients
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 tablespoon minced red onion
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 8 small ears of corn, husked
* Vegetable oil, for brushing
* 1/3 cup mayonnaise
* 1 teaspoon pure ancho chile powder
* 4 ounces cotija or ricotta salata cheese, crumbled (1 1/4 cups)
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* Hot sauce
* 12 large sea scallops
* Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
1. Light a grill. In a large bowl, toss the garlic and onion with the lime juice and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Brush the corn with oil and grill over moderate heat until charred and just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and cut the kernels off the cobs.
3. Whisk the mayonnaise and chile powder into the garlic, onion and lime juice. Add the cheese and corn to the bowl and toss. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.
4. Brush the scallops with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over high heat until nicely browned and barely cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Spoon the corn salad onto 4 plates and top with the scallops. Serve with lime wedges.
