This is a really impressive dish. It's beautiful but simple and a wonderful dinner party entree. If you can find them, peppadew peppers add a bit of zing, but if you can't, roasted red peppers work just fine. Shrimp can also be substituted for the scallops, if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 cup fresh corn or frozen corn, thawed
- 1/4 cup roasted sweet red peppers, drained and chopped
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 8 sea scallops (about 1 pound)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instruction
- In a large skillet, saute onion in half the butter until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add corn and peppers; cook 4-5 minutes longer. Stir in broth and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan, 15-20 minutes. Stir in cheese. Remove from heat; set aside and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the avocado, 1/4 cup water, cream and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add additional water as needed to reach desired consistency. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
- Sprinkle scallops with remaining salt and pepper. In a large skillet, saute scallops in remaining butter until firm and opaque, 1-2 minutes per side. Serve with polenta and avocado cream.
