Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Oh how I love scallops, they taste of the ocean.  Living as I do on a boat, finding really fresh scallops is usually pretty easy; sadly my husband has a shellfish allergy, so I don’t get to cook them as often as I would like. I usually save the occasion for visiting friends or family. 

This is one of my all time favorite dishes and I couldn’t have a cooking blog without including my version of the fabulous French recipe for ‘Coquilles Saint-Jacques’

Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Scallops with mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce

To Serve 6

Ingredients:

  

1 1/2 cups Organic Vegetable Stock

1 1/2 cups White Wine ( a Chardonnay works well)

3 Shallots, sliced

3 Celery tops with leaves cut in 2” pieces

4 Flat Leaf Parsley Sprigs

1 bay leaf

10 whole peppercorns

2 lbs whole Scallops cut into 1/2” slices

3/4 lb fresh button mushrooms, sliced

Sauce

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter

1 Garlic clove, peeled & Diced

5 tbsp all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole Milk

2 Free Range Egg Yolks 

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp finely ground Himalayan Pink salt

Sprinkle of freshly ground Pink Peppercorns

1/4 cup Gruyere cheese

Method:

To make the court bouillon:  Preheat the oven to 375.  In a heavy 3 - 4 quart saucepan, over high heat bring the vegetable stock, wine, shallots, celery, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Strain this through a sieve into a 10 -12” enameled or stainless steel skillet. Add the scallops and mushrooms, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the scallops and mushrooms to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Boil the remaining liquid to reduce the court bouillon down to one cup, remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Sauce: In a 2 - 3 quart enameled or stainless steel saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter over a medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for a minute just to soften (do not let the butter brown). Now lift the pan from the heat and stir in the flour to make a roux.  Return the pan to a low heat and cook for 1 - 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the reduced court bouillon and the milk, whisking constantly.  Return to a high heat and cook, stirring the sauce with a whisk.  When it comes to a boil and thickens, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute.  In a small bowl mix the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of cream together and stir in 2 tablespoons of the hot sauce. Add 2 more tablespoons of the sauce stirring to mix.  Then slowly pour this yolk and cream mix back into the pan with the remaining hot sauce whisking.  Over a medium heat bring the sauce back to a boil whisking constantly, and boil for 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.  The sauce should now thickly coat the back of a spoon, if it is too thick, thin with a little more cream.

Using a bulb baster, draw up and discard the juices that may have accumulated under the scallops and mushrooms.  Pour in about 2/3rd of the sauce and stir gently to combine. Butter 6 , shallow 4” ovenproof dishes (or scallop shells if you have them) and place on a baking sheet. Spoon the scallop mixture into the dishes. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake the scallops in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the sauce begins to bubble, then slide under a hot broiler (grill) for 30 seconds to brown the tops. Serve at once.

Enjoy :)