Coquilles St.-Jacques
Coquilles-St. Jacques is how fancy people (the French) say “scallops gratin”. I recommend you say it that way, and serve them in shells as I suggest, because it will give your guests the impression that this is much, much harder than it is. In fact, it’s a very easy recipe.
coquilles st.-jacques
Coquilles St.-Jacques (or Scallops Gratin)
Serves 6
10 TB unsalted butter, divided
¼ cup flour
1½ cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 bay leaf
3 shallots, diced
12 oz mushrooms (button or cremini) cleaned, stalks removed and chopped into pieces about the size of a die
½ cup sherry or white wine
2 lbs scallops, cut into quarters or so (similar size or a hair larger than the mushrooms)
1 ½ cups panko
¼ cup olive oil
2 TB fresh thyme
¼ cup + 1TB finely chopped parsley
½ cup grated gruyere
¼ cup grated parmesan (I know this isn’t true to tradition but we’re new fangled types here at Orderves)
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper
While there are a lot of ingredients here, this “hon hon hon, c’est magnifique!” of an app is RTG in 5 easy steps:
Step One: Secret Sauce
Melt 5 TB (half) of butter in heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, sprinkle in the flour. Cook for about 5 minutes, whisking nonstop. Add in the chicken stock, whisk for about 4 minutes (until thickened) then add in the cream and whisk for a further 4 minutes. Add in the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil briefly then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thick. Remove bay leaf, turn off heat and put on the back burner til later.
Step Two: Other stuff
In another saucepan melt the remaining 5 TB of butter on medium heat. Add in the shallots and cook for a few mins until softened. Add your mushrooms and cook for 6 minutes or so, or until they are just starting to brown and cook through. Add sherry/ wine and cook 5 min further, until reduced. Season with salt and pepper and pour mushroom mixture into cream mixture and stir.
Step Three: “Gratin”
This can be done while the other parts are cooking. Mix together in a small bowl the panko, thyme, ¼ cup parsley, gruyere and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the olive oil over the breadcrumbs and mix with your fingers until they kind of clump together.
Step Four: “News team, assemble!”
Preheat oven to 400. Line up your scallop shells in an I Love Lucy assembly line. Divide the mushroom sauce mixture across all of the shells. Then add the, yes raw, cut up scallops. (Don’t panic, because we cut them up they will cook to perfection in the next step). If you aren’t using shells, use small ramekins. Top with your cheese and panko mixture. Finish with a squeeze of lemon across each one. If you plan to freeze them do it after this step.
Step Five: “Come on baby light my fire”
If you froze your scallop shells in advance, allow to thaw in the fridge. Put your shells on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven, and broil them on low for 3-5 mins, or until tops are browned and bubbling. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Coupla notes:
· You can order serving shells on Amazon, just google “scallop baking shells”
· If you want to serve these with a whole scallop instead of quarters cook them first: bring your 1½ cups of chicken stock to a boil in a pot and add the scallops. Boil for 2 mins, then drain, reserving the liquid and set scallops aside. Start at Step One using scallop-chicken stock for your sauce.