I have been noticeably absent from the French Fridays with Dorie group, to my dismay, but what a great week for re-entry. This week’s recipe of a Warm Scallop Salad with Corn, Nectarines, and Basil is vibrant in flavor and color and an idyllic selection for warm summer evenings. As you know, we can’t share the recipe in this post, but if you have a bit of confidence in the kitchen and still haven’t purchased Around My French Table, you might be able to give this a try just from my description.
Dorie explains in her book, that this isn’t a French recipe, but rather one she serves in Connecticut when summer produce is at its peak. When she served it at her Paris apartment, they thought it exotic indeed but not for the nectarines, but rather the corn! Apparently fresh corn on the cob is not a staple at all. In fact, my friend Mardi from the blog eatlivetravelwrite just prepared this while in the south of France where they have fantastic markets and produce and still had to use canned corn!
Here are the elements of this composed salad:
- Scallops (we used shrimp and scallops)
- Corn (fresh is best but frozen or canned will work – I mixed)
- Tomatoes – cherry or large ones cut up (I used heirloom)
- Basil to prepare the basil coulis (a pureé of fresh basil and olive oil) and extra leaves to toss on at the end
- Fresh limes and olive oil for the lime-based dressing with a bit of spice
Some preparation including my blue sea salt from Provence!
Don’t let the word composed scare you. If you read through some of the other write-ups, you’ll see that you can create shortcuts to the plating and composition and Dorie explains that both the basil coulis and dressing can be made ahead, a huge time saver when you are trying to get it on the table at the end of a hectic day.
I prepared the coulis and dressing in the afternoon. Then before I left for soccer pick-up, I chopped my heirloom tomatoes and prepped the corn that I had leftover from the day before. I headed to the market on the way to soccer to purchase the scallops and shrimp and a can of corn to supplement the fresh as well as the nectarines. Knowing I would arrive home late with at least one starving child, I knew cooking and de-cobbing more corn was not realistic.
@Dormantchef worked his magic on the grill with the nectarines and scallops and shrimp – all of it cooked up in under five minutes. My only disappointment with this dish was my plating. The picture I had in my head and the end result did not align. I should have started with a larger plate and separated the corn from the shrimp and scallops in the center. However, from a taste standpoint – well – @dormantchef said it might be his new favorite meal and the kids gobbled it up. The succulence of the scallops and shrimp with a bit of the tangy lime dressing and fragrant basil coulis is simply complex and elegant. And the beefy heirloom tomatoes also accented with basil combined with the crispy corn and slightly warm fleshy nectarine wowed us all.
My friend Carol Sacks of InMediasRecipe recently posted about stone fruits and showed us how to use them as part of a main course salad. Now I can really understand how perfectly stone fruits play as part of dinner. Stone fruit is not just for dessert anymore!
As always, I learned much from Dorie’s recipe and playing along with this wonderful group. To read more renditions of this recipe, check out the French Fridays with Dorie web site and buy Dorie Greenspan’s award-winning cookbook Around My French Table. You will cherish the purchase and learn from each recipe and story that she shares.
P.S. If you haven’t already entered my giveaway for a signed copy of Mollie Katzen’s cookbook called get cooking, head over and enter. It’s a great book for a novice cook or anyone looking for simple ideas heading into the super busy school season.
I’m Beth – a seasoned marketing professional, kitchen table storyteller, and enthusiastic food consumer. Hang out in my virtual kitchen and I promise to feed you recipes, stories, and lots of inspiration!
That looks amazing! I’m definitely going to have to try to make it!
I love the name of your blog! And it was amazing – give it a try. You’ll love it.
I thought this was a terrific recipe although I did not eat it. After seeing yours plate, I am
definitely going to try this with shrimp. Yours looks wonderful.
Thanks Nana! Since we did have one scallop each, I can tell you that the shrimp was just as lovely with the recipe. Definitely give it a try.
Oh, how delicious is that!!! I adore scallops and this just looks amazing. I will have to try a stab at it :). ~ Bea
It really was yummy and though there are a few different elements, it really is simple and can be prepared in stages as your day allows.
Ooh, Beth – that looks so delicious! I love the combination of flavors in this dish and the addition of a warm nectarine is intriguing 🙂
Grill those stone fruits while they are still around – so wonderful and such a nice surprise as part of the main course.
So nice to see you back on the French Fridays bandwagon! I agree that this is a great recipe to come back on. I think your plating looks lovely and appetizing, but I can relate to your feeling that it didn’t match up to what you’d imagined. The layers of flavour in this dish are wonderful.
Love the new look of your site!
Thanks Teresa! Yes, I loved the layers of flavor, could see ways to modify, and really want to cook this again. As for plating, well, I think it has to be earlier than 8:30 at night when one is starving with a brain that is fading. That’s all I can say. 🙂
Thanks for the shoutout – definitely no fresh corn on the cob here! I will very definitely be making this again – LOVED it!!!
Same here and what a knock-out that grilled nectarine is!
What a stunning salad! I can see how this was a hit with everyone. Grilled stone fruit is just delightful. I’m such a fan of Around My French Table, too…so much to savor and enjoy in it. Love your blue sea salt!
Hi Hannah! As time allows, I will be writing more about my trip to France this summer when I purchased the salt – I was just drooling at this spice vendor at the market – wanted to buy one of everything they had! Thanks for popping by!
this looks so good and nice team work
Thanks Rebecca – @dormantchef is mostly dormant these days but humors me by handling the grilling (I always say the remote control gene is connected to the bbq gene so if you want to control the TV, you have to grill too!)
Tasty shrimp substitution!
That looks yummy!
Stopping by from SITS Sharefest.
Beth, that salad looks amazing. Will have it to try it soon! Thank you for the shout out, too.
Most welcome – I’ve had stone fruits for salad on the brain ever since you wrote that post!
I love scallops, I love shrimp, I love this salad! I would eat this every day if I could probably but alas, my husband doesn’t do shellfish so I would feel pretty selfish making it that often 🙂 I think your salad looks delicious and welcome back to FFWD! I’m a relative newbie (since January) so this is my first visit to your site – I love it!
Glad to be back – I wish I could stay on top of it every week but my hectic life just doesn’t seem to allow but I always enjoy it when I participate! (and learn so much)
Ah – shrimp is a good change up from the scallops (and practical, considering how costly scallops can be).
Such a tasty salad – and you are right – stone fruit aren’t just for dessert any more!