Luxury Scallop, Monkfish and Crab Gratin

This is one of those recipes that really are luxurious in flavour and to look at but absolutely no fuss to make. Those sort of recipes are my favourite and perfect for entertaining guests quickly. The wow factor without much fuss, worry or stress!

Easy to make but does require some really special ingredients. All my seafood comes from Seafood by Sykes. Their seafood is fabulous, most of which is locally sourced and frozen at sea. They are sustainable and premium but their prices are extremely friendly and reasonable. I am a big believer in supporting your fishmonger and local fisheries so if you’re looking for somewhere new to shop, take a look at their fabulous site. I also have a discount for 15% off their site - THP15 if you are interested (aff link).

Ingredients

• 6 Large Scallops

• 6 Monkfish chunks

• 4-5 tbsp Bluefish swimming crab meat

• 600ml vegetable stock (I use a stock cube plus 1 tbsp vecon stock)

• 60ml white wine

• 5 tbsp soya cream (alpro)

• 4 tbsp plant based butter (2 for the sauce, and 2 for the roux)

• Dill (as little or as much as you like)

• 1 quarter fennel (chopped)

• 1 large shallot (diced)

• 4 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

• 1 tbsp plain flour

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp garlic puree

• 1 tsp mustard

• 100ml oat milk

• 1 tbsp capers

Method

1. First of all, add in your diced fennel, shallot onion, stock cube, capers, vecon stock, garlic, a dash of white wine, boiling water, chopped dill and some seasoning and stir through. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes before adding your monkfish and your crab.

2. Poach in the stock for 1 minute before adding in your scallops and then poach for a further minute.

3. Remove your seafood and keep to the side and then make your roux. Keep the stock simmering and add in your 2 tbsp butter and your cream to your stock.

4. To make your roux, melt your butter in a pan and once melted add in your mustard and then your flour and stir until a paste has formed. At this point, add your milk gradually. Keep stirring until thick and creamy.

5. Now add in 150ml of your stock sauce to your roux and stir through. Keep the remaining stock (which will still have crab in it) for another recipe.

6. Place your seafood back into the thick sauce and stir through on a low heat until warmed through and now prepare your scallop shells.

7. If you do not have scallop shells you can make an ‘all in one’ gratin by placing your mixture into a dish but if you have scallop shells, ensure each scallop (5) have one scallop, one monkfish piece and some crab as well as the sauce.

8. To make your breadcrumb mix, simply stir through your breadcrumbs and olive oil with a dash of pepper in a pan until just starting to brown and cover over your seafood mix.

9. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown and serve immediately with a sprinkling of dill.