Corn Porridge with Seared Scallops + Brown Butter

a white plate with creamy corn porridge, 5 seared scallops and thinly sliced green onion

5 from 2 votes

Corn Porridge with Seared Scallops + Brown Butter

Creamy, buttery corn porridge topped with perfectly golden-brown seared scallops drizzled with brown butter! This is the fresh summer meal you’ll want to make again and again!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: dinner

Servings:

Calories: 560kcal

Author: Leigh Anderson

Ingredients

Scallops

8-10 large scallops
2 tbsp neutral oil
4 tbsp butter
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Corn Porridge

4 ears corn kernels cut from the cob
4 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
2 whole green onion thinly sliced

Instructions

Corn Porridge

Puree the corn kernels in a food processor until they are mostly creamy but still slightly chunky.
Place a sauté pan over medium heat. Pour the pureed corn into the pan along with a big pinch of salt. Cook the corn on medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a spatula. As the corn cooks, it will become thick and the color will change to a brighter, richer yellow. Cook the corn for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and green onion.

Scallops

Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Pour the oil into the hot pan and turn the pan so that it coats the entire surface. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and place them into the pan, be sure to not overcrowd them. Depending on the size of your pan may need to do this in two batches.
Let the scallops cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown, then flip them over and add in the butter. Turn off the heat from the pan and continue to cook the scallops for an additional 1 minute. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the scallops then remove them from the pan. Reserve the remaining butter in the pan for serving.
Divide the corn porridge between two plates, top with the scallops then spoon the brown butter over each plate. Garnish with chopped scallions or chives as well as freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately!

Notes

Tips for Cooking Scallops:

Remove the muscle: Scallops have a square, opaque muscle on their side. Gently pull it off and discard before cooking.
Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel to remove the excess moisture before cooking.
Cook the scallops on high heat: and don’t move them around in the pan. Sear them hard on one side, don’t peak, flip them only after you can see a golden-brown crust forming around the edges.
Sear in oil, finish in butter: If you cook the scallops in butter from the start the butter will burn and the scallops with be covered in tiny flecks of burnt butter. Instead, sear the scallops in a little bit of oil and then finish them in butter for the last minute of cooking.

Nutrition