Coquilles St Jacques Parisienne.

Wow, my French! 🙂

I had some frozen scallops from Whole Foods, looked through GF website for some inspiration and found this, all the ingredients apart from fish stock were in the pantry, bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge, so I made it. Only for myself, as Florek is in America.  It is a nice dish, but I think I’d have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t for the current heatwave, I could feel the sweat on my back as I was munching through it.  Might try it again in autumn some time.

Goemon Ishikawa, former sushi chef in Dinings once gave me some scallop shells, so I could serve them properly today. It does make a difference, I must say.

So first, a good, buttery mash, seasoned well and spiked with a touch of nutmeg, delicious, waiting for its turn in a piping bag.  I sliced all my scallops horizontally and poached them for 2 minutes in a mixture of fish stock and chardonnay, equal quantities. Removed the scallops and reduced the stock/wine while pan frying a shallot and 2 chestnut mushrooms in some butter, a tbsp of flour added to make  a loose roux, then the stock. Finished with a splash of double cream and seasoned. I piped the mash around the scallop shells, arranged the sauce in the middle and put the scallop pieces in it( I later realized I was supposed to mix them in with the sauce and then spoon it out), some breadcrumbs on top and into the oven for about 12 minutes, 190 degrees.

Nice, creamy, rich dish. But it couldn’t even dream of topping the scallops that are served in Dinings.