It’s that time of year for
the most amazing tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and local produce. We have a wonderful garden at our house, which
yields some beautiful goodies that we incorporate into every dinner. Unfortunately we only got a handful of
green/wax beans because it must be candy for the deer, we live in the woods,
need I say more? I thought the bunnies
would be the ones eating our lettuce etc. but it was the deer! Luckily we still got some delicious romaine
and curly leaf lettuces earlier in the season.
We also grow herbs and nasturtiums
for Café Louise. This year we have rosemary, chives galore, thyme, basil and
parsley. Love being able to just walk
out the door, clip fresh herbs and use them right away.
A delicious recipe from Executive
Chef David Tolly featuring fresh corn:
Pan Seared Scallops With Roasted Sweet Corn Ragout (Serves 4)
16 fresh sea scallops (large 10 count per lb.)
2 ears fresh sweet corn
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tablesppon roasted garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
2 ounces white wine
8 ounces heavy cream
kosher salt & fresh pepper, to taste- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Shuck the ears of corn, removing all corn hairs. Rub each ear with olive oil and season with salt & black pepper. Place ears on a baking tray and roast until corn kernels are tender and slightly caramelized (approx 8-10 minutes). Remove corn from tray and allow to cool.
- Over medium flame, heat a saucepan with 2 Tbl of olive oil. When oil is hot add onion, red pepper, and garlic. Sauté until tender and onions are clear. Add cumin and and stir well. Add white wine and stir well to deglaze the pan and reduce by half. Add heavy cream and simmer about 12 minutes, should be reduced by almost half. Remove corn kernels from cooled ears with knife and add to saucepan. Turn down heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Place scallops onto a clean dry work surface and season with salt and black pepper. Over medium-high flame, heat a sauté pan with 1/2 ounce of olive oil. When oil is hot add scallops to pan. Cook until golden in color (approx 4 min) turn and cook other side until golden (approx 4 min) Remove scallops from pan and set aside.
- To serve, divide ragout equally onto 4 plates. Place 3 cooked scallops around the ragout place fourth scallop on top of ragout. Sprinkle scallops with fresh chopped chives and serve.
