Seared Scallops with Corn, Avocado and Herb Salad.
Seared scallops sit a top a sweet corn, creamy avocado and fresh herb salad all topped with crunchy chickpeas. This is the perfect salad to ring in the unofficial start to summer.
This post is sponsored by Saffron Road, but all opinions are my own. Thank you, my readers, for supporting brands that make My Cape Cod Kitchen possible!
If you haven’t noticed, scallops are a recent obsession of ours. They’re sweet, succulent, buttery, fresh and just the perfect summertime seafood. And, best yet, they take mere minutes to cook. Sign me up for that.
People tell me all the time that they’re scared to cook scallops – they don’t want to mess them up. But they’re actually very simple to cook – err on the side of undercooking them, as they turn rubbery when overcooked. All you have to do for great scallops is, of course, get the freshest you can buy, preferably at your local fish market, if you have one. Then pat them dry, season with salt and pepper and add to a very hot pan with a bit of oil. Sear them on each side for about a minute (more if you want them more than seared). Have everything else prepared for the meal or salad beforehand, so you can plate the scallops and serve right away – you want to eat those scallops fresh off that hot pan.
So, back to this Seared Scallops with Corn, Avocado and Herb Salad.
You need an extra special salad to kick off the unofficial start to the lazy days of summer. Don’t you? Well, this is it. It has all the warm weather favorites: summer corn, summer herbs, creamy avocado and scallops. Ohhh and crushed crunchy chickpeas. Because my other current obsession (besides scallops) is Saffron Road’s crunchy chickpeas. Gimmmme all the flavors of those and I’m a happy girl. They are such great stand alone snacks, but they add amazing crunch to all sorts of salads and sides. For this dish, I used the sea salt version … so good, but then tried the Korean BBQ flavor on top the next time around … and that’s my favorite. Feel free to use your favorite flavor, all would be great on top of this salad.
Here’s how to make this Seared Scallops with Corn, Avocado and Herb Salad:
Seared Scallops with Corn, Avocado and Herb Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 5 ears fresh corn on the cob
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced white and green parts
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves slivered
- 1/4 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley leaves roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems roughly chopped (any thick stems removed)
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 lime, juice of
- 2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 avocado cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup Saffron Road chickpeas, crushed, plus more for serving sea salt or Korean BBQ flavor
- lime wedges
For the scallops
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb sea scallops patted dry
- salt and pepper
Instructions
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Heat a large pot filled halfway with water over high heat until boiling. Add corn, cover, reduce heat and lightly boil for 5 minutes. Remove corn from pot and let cool slightly. Once able to handle, slice the corn off the cobs into a large bowl.
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Add scallops, herbs, feta, lime juice, rice vinegar and evoo to the bowl with the corn and toss. Top with avocado and crushed chickpeas.
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Heat remaining teaspoon of evoo in a saute pan over medium heat. Season scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a medium sauté pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium high heat until glistening. Swirl oil in the pan and add scallops. Don’t crowd the scallops – cook in two batches if need be. Sear scallops for a minute or two (until desired doneness) on each side until a nice golden crust forms. Remove from heat.
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Add scallops to corn salad. Serve with lime wedges.
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