This classic French Mediterranean fish is not only fun to make, the presentation in sea shells makes a great dinner course before the entree. I tried, this once using walleye and it was an interesting way of preparing my freezer full of Walleye, but it is better with scallops. However, free Walleye (that I caught) versus expensive scallops is a consideration. This is fairly sophisticated recipe, but don’t let that deter you, and don’t cheap out on the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Sea Scallops
- 0.5 lbs White mushrooms – fresh – sliced thin or diced, your call
- 0.5 cup Shallots – diced, ~2 shallots
- 8 oz dry White Wine
- 4 oz Heavy cream
- 4 oz Gruyere cheese – shredded, can use white cheese
- 2 TBL Butter
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 tsp Lemon zest
- 8 Tarragon leaves – fresh
- 2 tsp fresh tarragon leaves – minced
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
- Pinch of Paprika – smoked of course
Process
- Mise en Place: Measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Melt butter in a skillet on Med. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
- Stir in mushrooms and increase heat to Med-High, stirring often until shrooms are golden brown.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour in wine and bring to a boil.
- Scrap the fond off bottom of pan – it’s loaded with flavors.
- Reduce heat to simmer and gently place scallops in the mix (or silver dollar disks of fish fillets).
- Poach fish for ~2 mins per side.
- Gently transfer scallops to plate and strain the mixture from the pan for the juice.
- Pour strained liquid back into the pan and add cream. Bring to a boil stirring often until half the liquid is cooked off, ~10 mins.
- Cool liquid ~1 min in the pan away from stove
- Whisk in egg yolk, then add the minced tarragon, lemon zest, and cayenne pepper.
- Divide the strained mushroom mix into four scallop shells (or ramekins).
- Divide scallops into four equal amounts and spoon on top of the mushroom mix.
- Cover with cheese and top with paprika.
- Broil until cheese is melted, ~5 mins.
- Remove from oven and garnish each serving with two tarragon leaves that are crossed like an X
- Allow to cool slightly before serving. The shells or ramekins will be hot.
