Weekly Fish #9: Grilled Scallops with Mexican Corn Salad

For a while now, I've wanted to try elote, that mayo- and spice-laden grilled corn on the cob that is iconic of Mexican street food. I imagine that it's a great combination of sweet (grilled corn), spicy (ancho chili powder), and sour (lime), but fear that the mayo could dominate all. That fear was somewhat realized with this week's fish.



Scallops grilled surprisingly well, at least in appearance. The grill marks are right out of a food maazine. But can't say that I prefer scallops this way; the texture was a great combination of firm and silky, but the taste was ... bland. Any other preparation of scallops I've had involved pan frying and/or broiling, and I think that letting the scallops cook in a sauce this way, rather than in the relative open air, makes for better scallops.

The corn salad is basically a dissembled elote: grilled corn on the cob (just rubbed with oil left directly on the grill for 10 minutes, then cut off the cob), lime juice, chili powder, red onion, garlic, cheese (should be cotija, but I substituted ricotta salata), and, yes, mayo. In the background, the flavors were just what I had imagine elote to be, but all played the chorus to the lead mayo.

Neither of us was a fan of the dish. I will still give elote a try someday, but with lowered expectations.