Lighthouse Gin-fused Scallops will be your new favourite recipe

Deceptively simple, seemingly luxurious... there is nothing quite like a seafood dinner to take an ordinary evening and make it extraordinary. Using October 2017's beautiful Lighthouse Gin, our resident gin chef Carol has whipped up an especially delicious dinner dish. Read on to get the recipe for yourself!

October is here and autumn rolls in, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! I enjoy autumn, but I've not chosen a typical autumn theme for this month's recipe – nor is it Halloween-based!

I was lucky enough to visit New Zealand last Christmas and yearn to go back. So beautiful, quiet and peaceful. Stunning scenery, lovely people and some great gins – of which October’s Lighthouse Gin is one. With a name like that, I could only ever pair this gin with one ingredient: seafood.

I've chosen scallops for no better reason than because I love them, and some of the best can be found in the waters around New Zealand. These scallops are seared in a hot pan and served with steamed samphire and my version of a beurre blanc, made with gin rather than white wine.  My tasters loved them and they disappeared in record time. I hope you enjoy them, too!

Ingredients:

12 large king scallops without roe
2tbsp light olive oil
3tbsp lime juice
1tbsp orange juice
3tbsp Lighthouse Gin
75g cold, diced unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
200g samphire (optional)

Method:

1. Pat the scallops dry on a piece of kitchen roll and season well with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a heavy based non-stick pan.
2. Cook the scallops on a medium to high heat for 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove from the pan and put on a warm plate to rest, covering loosely with foil. This step is very important, as you will get a delicious juice from the scallops which is needed for the sauce.
3. Now, in the same pan, add the lime juice, orange juice and gin. Bring to the boil, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan, and reduce by half. Lower the heat and add the chilled butter piece by piece, whisking all the time until you get a creamy sauce. Now add the scallop juices and season with salt and pepper. While making the sauce, pop the samphire on to steam. This will take about two minutes.
4. To serve, pop a mound of steamed samphire on a plate and top with three scallops per person. Drizzle over the gin 'beurre blanc' and serve.