Corn & Sweet Red Peppers with Sea Scallops

From My Carolina Kitchen

6 servings of rice, prepared either according to package directions or my mother’s method above

3 ears of yellow corn, about 2 ½ lbs total, husked, silks removed

1 ¼ pounds dry pack sea scallops

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Smoked sweet Spanish paprika, also known as Pimenton

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

1 to 2 small cloves of garlic, peeled & minced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus some whole leaves for garnish

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare six servings of rice. When cooked, drain well, stir in a little butter to coat the rice kernels, cover and briefly set aside on the stove while you prepare the vegetables and scallops. Right before serving, spray 6 small ramekins with cooking spray and mound rice into the molds, packing well. Invert ramekins on the individual bowls that you plan to use for the vegetables and scallops, but do not unmold the rice yet. Let it sit in the ramekins while you prepare the vegetables and scallops.

Remove the corn from the cob with a sharp knife. I like to cut mine into a paper plate. Rinse scallops and pat dry, then sprinkle lightly with salt, freshly ground black pepper and smoked paprika.

Melt 1 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 10 to 12” nonstick skillet over high heat. Add corn kernels, bell peppers, garlic and cumin and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp tender, about 3 minutes, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter and oil in another 10 to 12” nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook until scallops are browned on the outside and barely opaque in the center, turning once, about 4 to 5 minutes total, depending on their size. Take care not to overcook the scallops or they will be tough. When scallops are done to your liking, stir in the cilantro.

Just before serving, stir basil into the vegetable mixture and taste for seasonings. Spoon vegetables into wide, shallow individual bowls, gently remove ramekins off of the molded rice, then add the scallops and any pan juices and garnish with basil leaves.

Cook’s notes: You could also substitute small pasta, such as orzo, for the rice. If you like a lot of vegetables, which we do, I suggest doubling the recipe for the peppers & corn.

Adapted from Sunset magazine – serves 6

My mother's perfect rice

My mother had a very easy but unusual way to cook rice and I’ll share her method with you. It always turned out perfectly, no lumps or sticky clumps, and no fancy cookers. She cooked the rice in lots of boiling salted water, the same way you cook pasta. Twenty minutes for white rice, 35 minutes for brown. After draining it well, she put the rice back in the pan, stirred in a pat of butter, and left it covered on the stove for up to twenty minutes before serving. She always used Uncle Ben’s converted rice and I’ve never used anything else, so I’m not sure how it would work with other brands. But I will add that this recipe has never let me down.