PAN SEARED SCALLOPS IN A BLUE CURACAO SAUCE WITH RED PEPPERS AND LEMON FOAM

Recently, at one of my local restaurants I ordered a seafood dish that was served in a blue sauce.  A blue sauce?  Yes.  The sauce was made using Blue Curacao liqueur. Blue Curacao is a sweet and slightly bitter, vibrant blue colored liqueur originally made from dried orange peels found on Curacao, an island in the Caribbean. 

I know that Blue Curacao is used primarily for cocktails.  However, given that it was used in a savory dish, this certainly got my attention.  I wanted to try and recreate this mystic sauce, so I did some experimenting for a few days and came up with my own version of a savory blue sauce.

 

Blue Curacao Sauce

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup Blue Curacao Liquor
4 oz. (1/4 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into 1 inch pieces
salt
pepper

Heat canola oil in a small pot.  Add shallots and garlic and cook for about two minutes.  Add bay leaf, lemon juice, lemon zest and Blue Curacao.  Cook over high heat until reduced to about one-half.  Remove from heat.  Strain the sauce.  Return strained sauce to heat.  Let sauce reduce another half to about 1/4 cup.  Whisk in butter, one piece at a time and continue to whisk together until sauce thickens slightly.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.    

Because it was the Fourth of July, what was a better time to make a dish utilizing the blue sauce?

I decided on pan seared scallops with chunks of flounder and blanched red peppers.



Scallops and Flounder

I seared both the scallops and flounder in butter and oil.  I purposely wanted to keep them moist, so I did not opt for a dark brown sear.

 

Pre-Foam Version

And since blue represents the ocean or sea, I wanted to add some foam, so I pulled out my MOLE' CULE R kit and created lemon foam as a garnish.



MOLE' CULE R Kit

Lemon Foam
1 sachet (2 grams) soy lecithin
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup lemon juice

Combine the lemon juice, water and soy lecithin in a bowl.

Using a hand-held blender (or eggbeater), produce a good quantity of foam.
Spoon foam over finished dish as a garnish.

 
Although I was told there was "too much" foam on the dish, all the flavors were there and came together very nicely.

GRILLED SHRIMP ON LEMONGRASS SKEWERS WITH THAI STYLE DIPPING SAUCE

Grilled Shrimp on Lemongrass Skewers

Many years ago when I first started making this dish it was difficult in my town to get lemongrass.  But throughout the years as the supermarkets and more Asian markets expanded, lemongrass became another easy ingredient to get.  I like to make the shrimp skewers served alongside Asian Pesto With Rice Noodles.  Asian Pesto With Rice Noodles

 

3 stalks of lemongrass

12 shrimps (U15-20)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 Serrano chili pepper, finely minced
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of canola oil
Ground black pepper
Pink salt
Juice of 1 lime, about 1Tablespoon
2 teaspoons of fish sauce
Pinch of granulated sugar

Trim lemongrass of its outer sheath.  Bruise the stalks all over with a mallet or back of a knife.  Cut off about 3 inches of the bottoms and finely mince the tender inner core. Continue to peel lemongrass until the inner stalk resembles a "skewer".  Reserve all lemongrass trimmings.

Place 4 shrimps on each of the 3 intact stalks, leaving some space between each shrimp.

 

 

Combine the minced lemongrass, garlic, ginger, one-half of the minced chili, and 1 Tablespoon of the oil and roll the shrimps in the mixture.  Drizzle with more oil, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate the shrimps for several hours.

 

 

Chop all the lemongrass trimmings and measure them.  Combine with an equal amount of water in a small saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cook until mixture is reduced to about 2 Tablespoons.  Strain the liquid then return it to the saucepan and reduce until it is about one Tablespoon. Combine the lemongrass reduction with the remaining minced chili, the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and 2 teaspoons of the oil.  Set aside.

Remove the skewers from the fridge and let sit for about 20 minutes, and then brush off the marinade. 

Grilled Shrimp

Grill the shrimp skewers for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until shrimp are just pink and slightly firm.  Serve shrimps with the dipping sauce.