Coquilles Saint Jacques



by TheLadyEve

1 Comment

  1. TheLadyEve

    **Coquilles Saint Jacques** is a French scallop dish that has been around in different iterations for a long time (the Medieval period, actually, although that version was served in a pastry shell and didn’t have the bechamel yet). By the time Escoffier came along it had developed into the bechamel/cheese/gratin dish you see here.

    And I’m sure I’ll get the inevitable “YoU dOn’T put CHEESE with SEAFOOD” comments, but that’s an Italian rule, and it’s a rule that’s way more modern than this dish is. Hell, the unified nation of Italy is younger than this dish is.

    Source: [Recipe Tin Eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/coquilles-saint-jacques/)

    220g / 7 1/2 oz medium raw scallops

    1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

    Mushroom Béchamel Sauce

    30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter

    1 eschalot (US: shallot), finely diced

    200g / 7 oz white mushrooms , diced 8mm / 1/4″

    2 tbsp plain flour (all-purpose)

    1/2 cup hot milk , preferably full fat but works with lite milk too

    1/2 cup hot thickened cream (heavy cream) , or any other full fat cream

    1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

    1/8 tsp black pepper

    1 pinch ground nutmeg

    Cheesy Crust

    3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

    50 g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

    50g / 1/2 cup Gruyère cheese , shredded using a standard box grater (tightly packed if using cups)

    1/8 tsp cooking salt

    Pat scallops dry, remove the chewy side muscle, slice in half. Cook mushrooms and eschalot in butter, make a creamy béchamel. Mix the crust. Season and cover scallops in gratin dishes, top with crust, bake 20 minutes at 200°C / 400°F (180°C / 350°F fan).