Galway Races Scallops With a Pernod Cream Sauce

I had lunch in Galway at The Artisan just before going to the races and liked this mix of scallops and Pernod so much that afterwards I tried to recreate it and I think I was quite successful.
If there had been a horse running called Pernod and Zest; or Scallops and Absinthe I would have definitely bet on it.

Recipe for Galway races scallops with a Pernod cream sauce
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 6 large scallops with their coral
- 1 knob (about 10g) butter
- 10 tarragon leaves, chopped
- 60ml/¼ cup double cream
- 1 tbsp Pernod
- juice and zest of half a small lemon
- smoked salt
- freshly ground white pepper
Method
- Season the scallops.
- Put the butter in a smallish frying pan, get it hot but don’t allow it to burn.
- Add the scallops and fry until golden brown on both sides. This will probably take about five minutes.
- Take them out and keep them warm.
- Reduce the heat, and add the Pernod, lemon juice, tarragon, and cream to the frying pan.
- Whisk (I use my cappuccino whisk) and pour over the scallops.
- Garnish with the lemon zest.
Instead of Pernod you could also use raki.
For a recipe for scallops with rum and lime, follow this link.
Music to cook to
Liam Clancy sings Galway Races.
Can I ask how much Pernod you added? It doesn’t seem to be in the ingredients list. Thanks!
Hello Danny – thanks for spotting that – I put in one tablespoon – I’ve corrected and updated the post now. SD