Coquille Saint-Jacque a la Parisienne
Coquille Saint-Jacque is a French dish typically used as an appetizer. It is a combination of scallops, crab and shrimp meat in a very rich vermouth/butter sauce. Doesn’t take much to fill you up, so this should serve 6, unless your Sam, then 2.
Ingredients
Meat
Scallops |
1/2 lb. Sliced |
Crab meat |
1/4 lb. |
Shrimp |
1/4 lb. |
Dry white Vermouth |
3/4 cup |
Mushrooms |
2 cups sliced (1 lb.) |
Salt |
1/2 Tsp. |
White pepper |
|
Bay leaf |
½ |
Shallots |
2 Tbsp. minced |
Sauce
Butter |
3 Tbsp. |
Flour |
4 Tbsp. |
Milk |
3/4 cup |
Egg yolks |
2 |
Heavy cream |
1/2 cup |
Salt |
|
White pepper |
|
Lemon juice |
Completion
Scallop shells (or other dish for presentation) |
6 |
Butter |
1 Tbsp. melted |
Swiss cheese |
3 Tbsp. grated |
Bread crumbs |
Step 1
Meat
Put Scallop, crab, shrimp, mushrooms, seasonings & herbs into a pan with the Vermouth.
Add water to almost cover ingredients.
Bring to a simmer
Cover and let simmer very slowly for about 5 minutes.
Remove and place the meat & mushrooms from the liquid into a bowl.
Boil down the liquid to 1 cup.
Step 2
Sauce
Melt 3 table spools of butter in a pan.
Stir in flour & cook slowly for about 2 min (with out browning)
Remove from heat & beat in liquid from meat.
Stir over moderate high heat until sauce thickens; thin with milk.
Remove from heat.
Blend egg yolks in a bowl with half the cream.
Beat the egg/cream mixture into the heated sauce in driblets.
Return the pan & stir over moderately high heat until sauce comes to a boil.
Thin as necessary with more milk or cream.
Carefully correct seasoning; add lemon juice if needed.
Step 3
Completion
Fold two thirds of the sauce into the meat.
Divide the meat evenly into lightly buttered scallop shells.
Divide the remaining sauce over the meat.
Sprinkle each with some melted butter.
Sprinkle each with some cheese.
Sprinkle each with some bread crumbs.
Refrigerate if not to be served immediately.
Step 4
Presentation
Place filled dishes (shells or otherwise) under a moderately hot broiler until bubbling and brown.
Server while they are still bubbling.
Hint: Do as much of the small mixing things before as possible. The sauce can turn bad very quickly.