Since coming back from holidays, all I could think about are seafood and cocktails. Something clicked and I decided to combine the two!Caipirinha is a favourite summer drink of mine. I finally found a bottle shop in the city that sells Cachaca and am looking forward to treating friends to a round of the refreshing cocktail one weekend soon. In the meantime, I enjoyed the flavours that go in this drink in an unusual way.
The sauce for this scallop dish is very simple, a mix of lime juice, rind and sugar. A glug of Cachaca is added and set alight (I do love some theatrics in the kitchen from time to time!).
The result is simple but special enough to be part of a festive meal with the closest of your friends. This is not a traditional dish served for a traditional festival but I believe that just getting the chance to sit down for a meal with your nearest and dearest is always worth celebrating.
I am sending this over to Anna of Morsels and Musings for the Festive Food Festival.
Pop on over and enjoy the buffet!
Flambéed Caipirinha Scallops
Serves 2 for a light lunch but if you're feeding the masses, bigger quantities are best made in small batches.
I had the scallops with some tumeric and butter rice but they would also be nice served as an appetizer/finger food, sitting on some lettuce leaves.
300g scallops (roe removed)
a knob of butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp lime juice
zest from 2 limes
1 Tbsp raw or brown sugar
a dash of Cachaca
chives for garnish
Combine in a cup the lime juice, zest and sugar.
In a skillet/pan, heat up the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the lime juice mix.
Swish the skillet around to keep the sugar from burning. Once the sauce has thickened and browned slightly, turn up the heat and toss in the scallops.
Stir-fry for around one minute. Add a dash of Cachaca. If cooking over a gas burner, tilt the pan slightly such that the alcohol catches the flame. Otherwise, light up with a match.
Do not let the scallops overcook. They are best flash-cooked to keep them plump and sweet.
Garnish with chives and extra lime slices.
10 comments:
Whenever I go to a Brazilian restaurant, I always make sure I have one, or maybe two, caipirinhas! What a neat idea to use those flavors on scallops.
hi marvin,i think this makes a lovely summer nibbles to have with beer.
May (can I call you that?), it's such a joy, as a Brazilian, to see your love for something from here! Caipirinha is really delicious - my husband makes some for me sometimes, on Sundays, and I drink it while making lunch for us.
Your dish look delicious!
i love scallop!! this is just the perfect recipe i'm looking for, yummy plus with rice.. by the way im tagging you of the kitchen "meme" to which i have been tagged :-)
caipirinha is our favorite whenever we go to a brazilian restaurant. It is so refreshing and soooo yummy! I bet it was awesome flavored in the scallops!
Hi there Maybahay!
I have never had a Caipirinha, but anything with lime is my kind of thing! Your scallops look gorgeous - I love the way you put them on the rice, great presentation.
How original (and devlish) of you to use Cachaca with scallops!
Scallops with lime - these look so good, even without the cocktails!
thanks dhanggit and veron.
hi nic, i am a lime fan, too. it's such a fresh flavour.
thanks for visiting peter.
i had to have cachaca and with two little ones, cocktails are not always the first choice to have them in:-)
thanks for visiting laurie. i did enjoy these very much :-)
Very interesting recipe.
I love Caipirinha too!! :)
Margot
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