Seared Scallops and Corn Salad Are All the Company You Need This Summer

Cooking for One is my column dedicated to solo dining. No matter what stage of life you’re in, you’ll find a new recipe every month that makes preparing a meal for yourself a special occasion. Find the recipes here, and subscribe to the Cooking for One newsletter to follow along.

As a single woman who lives alone, I sometimes laugh at the irony of routinely developing recipes for upwards of four people. Even when I’m cooking for fun and not for work, I often find myself lamenting about the amount of leftovers I will have, and how much I know I’m going to dread eating the same thing for more than two days.

There are several chefs and writers who have tackled the task of cooking for one, like Joanie Zisk in her book, The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook, but I still find myself wishing there was more recipe content out there geared toward eating alone. I’ve learned so much about myself from the time I’ve spent alone, and I want to celebrate moments of solitude! 

In the past, I reserved special meals for nights when I had company, but why wait? To remedy that, I will be developing a new recipe for eating solo each month — starting with these seared scallops served over corn salad. 

I can’t think of a better way to kick off a summer of treating yourself than with this recipe. Seafood can be so pricey, but when you only have to buy enough for yourself, it’s so much more accessible, and this dish is a prime example! For a group of four, you’d have to splurge on 16 to 20 scallops, but when it’s just you, you only need to buy a handful. 

The scallops get a hard sear on both sides, and then they’re placed atop a simple, but flavorful, corn salad made with tomatoes and basil. It’s summer in a dish! From start to finish, this recipe is ready in just 30 minutes. If you’ve got a balcony — or, in my case, a fire escape — this dish tastes best al fresco.