← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 400 g scallops, roe on or off, halved if large
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 2 Shallot, finely chopped
• 1 Bay leaves
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 50 g Butter
• 200 g button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 150 ml Milk, warm
• 100 ml double (heavy) cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and white pepper
• 40 g panko or dried breadcrumbs
• 50 g Gruyère, grated

Method

1. Bring the wine, half the shallots, the bay and thyme to a gentle simmer in a small pan. Add the scallops and poach very gently for 1 minute, just until they turn opaque at the edges. Lift them out and keep the liquid.
2. Melt 30 g butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the rest of the shallots and the mushrooms for 5 min until their liquid evaporates. Stir in the flour for 1 minute.
3. Strain in the poaching liquid, then gradually whisk in the warm milk and cream. Simmer for 3–4 min, stirring, until thick and smooth. Off the heat, beat in the egg yolk, nutmeg and lemon juice and season.
4. Heat the grill to high. Fold the scallops into the sauce and spoon into 4 scallop shells or small gratin dishes set on a baking tray.
5. Melt the remaining butter, mix it with the breadcrumbs and Gruyère and scatter over the top. Grill for 3–5 min until bubbling and golden, watching closely so the crumbs do not burn.

Tips

• Barely cook the scallops at the poaching stage; they finish heating under the grill and turn rubbery if overdone.
• A ring of piped mashed potato around each shell is the classic Parisian touch.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats Serious Eats BBC Good Food