For the second week in a row, we are making one of my picks for the month of August. Really, when I was choosing, I was only thinking of what’s available in the market or at the roadside stand, so to be honest, I didn’t really look at this recipe.
I had planned to make it last weekend for guests, but my local Trader Joe’s was out of their lovely frozen scallops (I live in the desert southwest, there are no fresh scallops here), so I had to punt and we ended up with chile relleno casserole and calabacitas (no sloppy second) instead.
Then, I started worrying about the recipe once I read it, and I’ll admit, after a sneak peek at another Dorista’s post. So mostly, this is Dorie’s recope.
The lime dressing is where I veered a bit. It calls for only lime zest, lime juice, a little seasoning and olive oil. I decided to use part rice vinegar to add a bit of sweetness with a pinch of cayenne. And then, since now I was only making a single salad, I just put the basil into the dressing. I’m sure it would be nice (and pretty!) to have the coulis, but…
The corn is cut from the cob but not cooked. For raw corn in a salad, it would be better to have just picked (which was another good reason to make this last weekend when I’d stopped at the farm!) so it’s sweeter and more tender. I’m guessing that frozen would make a good substitute if you didn’t have good corn available. I had already eaten all of the cherry tomatoes I’d picked up, so a chopped regular one would have to do.
The scallops and the nectarine (mine was a white one), get seared in a pan. The scallops get turned, the nectarine does not.
Then the salad gets assembled: corn mixed with dressing, then the tomatoes over the top. The scallops in the middle with the nectarine on the side, all garnished with basil.
This was a pretty good dish! I think I would have liked it more with a little glass of a crisp white wine! And certainly shared with friends and family. But this was better than I had been starting to think. I liked the play between the scallops, corn, basil and nectarine. And the tomatoes were nice for a bite in a different direction. I’m always a bit worried about cooking scallops. I am not totally in love with them “translucent” in the middle. These turned out to be tender, and nicely seared. I can understand why Dorie serves this to her guests. It’s a beautiful dish.
dulceshome 
I am with you on the translucency – it just seems undercooked to me. However, I went with it, and liked it, although it really is not a good winter dish.
The salad looks lovely:) I like the use of rice wine vinegar in the dressing. Great idea! Thanks for a great pick. This was one of my favorite recipes:)
Yes, I agree rice wine would be an interesting change in the dressing.
A glass of wine makes everything better! Your salad looks great.
LOL great to enjoy your picks! : ) Mostly, mine haven’t been seconded lately and I have been doing the same thing, picking things in season or readily available and fresh for the season here 🙂 Your plate looks great!
Nice ideas in simplifying this one. Seeing your pics I realize I never get tired of seeing how lovely scallops get when cooked. Is it any wonder I could eat a ton of them? Great job.
You really broke this recipe down to it’s core. I love the simplicity of your preparation.
Looks very summery, and I agree that a a nice glass of wine would have been a nice pairing.
Yummmmmmmm scallops! Honestly I would probably eat them every day if I could afford it. Yours look delcious and I love that the header photo on the blog is the salad photo – looks beautiful!
I don’t think the beauty of this dish is diminished by simplifying things – if any thing, it should be more enjoyable when you realize how clever you were 🙂
Lovely job!
Lovely. Lovely. Yeah, when we don’t live in areas surrounded by water and without the lurury of fresh seafood, it’s hard to get excited about using frozen seafood/fish. But your plate looks lovely and obviously tasted delicious. So, all is well. Nice.
You made some great picks for August, Candy! I love using what’s at its peak, and so far, the recipes have lined up with that. I have to admit I left the nectarine out but I wish I hadn’t. And, I can attest that a glass of chilled white wine is perfect with the salad. My current favorite is Cortese di Gavi (from Italy) which I just discovered this summer.
Candy, you prepared such a lovely looking sald – it looks utterly delicious! Although I had to skip this week, I plan on making this wonderful looking dish soon – summer is just flying by!
Lovely! I was worried about all the different flavors as well, but it all tasted good together. I cooked my corn, though. I just couldn’t wrap my head around uncooked corn, but I am glad to know that it’s good raw.