The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale

JC 100 Julie ChildWelcome to Week 14 of the JC100 Celebration! Today also marks the kick off Julia Child Restaurant Week (from August 7 – 15th) where 100 restaurants around the country will pay homage to the culinary icon. Be sure to check out to see which restaurants are participating.

This week’s special recipe for the JC100 bloggers is Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale, or Scallops Gratinéed with Wine, Garlic and Herbs. Lucky for me my fish monger was open on the civic holiday yesterday (BC Day). Even luckier that he had a stash of scallop shells he was willing to part with…gratis!

Three scallop shells

 

Julia Child’s Recipe for Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale

 

The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale
 
Author: Julia Child
Serves: 6
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup minced yellow onions
  • 1 Tb butter
  • 1 1/2 Tb minced shallot or green onions
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 lbs washed scallops
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup sifted flour in a dish
  • 2 Tb butter
  • 1 Tb olive oil
  • A 10-inch enameled skillet
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine, or 1/2 cup dry white vermouth and 3 Tb water
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1/8 tsp thyme
  • 6 buttered scallop shells, or porcelain or pyrex shells, of 1/3 cup capacity
  • 1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
  • 2 Tb butter cut into 6 pieces
Instructions
  1. Cook the onions slowly in butter in a small saucepan for 5 minutes or so, until tender and translucent but not browned. Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic, and cook slowly for 1 minute more. Set aside.
  2. Dry the scallops and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick. Just before cooking, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and shake off excess flour.
  3. Sauté the scallops quickly in very hot butter and oil for 2 minutes to brown them lightly.
  4. Pour the wine, or the vermouth and water, into the skillet with the scallops. Add the herbs and the cooked onion mixture. Cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Then uncover, and if necessary boil down the sauce rapidly for a minute until it is lightly thickened. Correct seasoning, and discard bay leaf.
  5. Spoon the scallops and sauce into the shells. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to gratiné.
  6. Just before serving, run under a moderately hot broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through, and to brown the cheese lightly.
 
Notes

This good recipe may be prepared in advance and grantinéed just before serving. The proportions given are sufficient for a first course. Double them for a main course. Serve a chilled rosé, or a dry white such as côtes de Provence.

To prolong the shelf life of a scallop producers often immerse their catch in a preserving agent. While the agent (tripolphosphate) does help to keep up freshness, it also causes the scallop to absorb water which, in turn, affects its overall weight. To avoid paying for all that extra liquid, steer clear of any scallops that look like they’ve already been blanched. Instead, select ones that are beige to blush in colour and have a delicate, sweet aroma.

I used Catarina Bay scallops, a sustainable option from Mexico. I could tell by their rosy colour that they were untreated and, because they’re so tiny, I wouldn’t need to spend time cutting them into ¼ inch thick slices. Bonus!

Raw Catarina Bay scallops piled onto a red and white tea towel

With a fancy French name like Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale, you might expect this recipe to be complicated and fussy but it really wasn’t. It took me less than 20 minutes start to finish. (Okay – 25 if you count scrubbing the scallop shells.)

Small scallops being sauteed in a butter and olive oil

I was a little reluctant to let the scallops simmer for 5 minutes and then boil rapidly for another one, afraid that I might end up eating a scallop shell full of rubber erasers, but they were surprisingly tender, sweet, and creamy. I should know by now to trust Julia.

Small scallops simmering in wine, garlic and herb sauce with bay leaf

I used Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Swiss since that’s what I had on hand.

Gratineed Scallops St. Jacques on a broiler rack To serve, I filled shallow bowls with coarse salt then set the scallop shells on top.

Coquilles St Jacques

Even the Sea-King Poseidon and his queen Amphitrite would approve!

Two servings of Scallops gratineed with wine, garlic and herbs

I’ve poured over the list of Julia’s 100 most beloved recipes (compiled by a panel of culinary luminaries) this morning trying to guess what the last of the JC100 recipes will be. I think Julia’s perfect Génoise or Gâteau Paris would make a very fitting finale. Every birthday party needs a cake!

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Tagged on: #cookforJulia, Coquilles St. Jacques, JC100, Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Scallops, Seafood
By Laura Leigh Goyer | August 7, 2012 | COOK THE BOOK, RECIPES | 23 Comments |

23 thoughts on “The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale”

  1. bellini

    I remember Coquilles St. Jacques as being one of the very first dishes I made for guests back in the day. I still have the scallop shaped plates.

    Reply ↓
  2. trishworth

    Oh this looks delicious. I haven’t bought scallops for years because they’re so expensive. But now that I often cook for just my husband and me, I could afford them, so I’m going to try this recipe. You’ve made it look easy.

    Reply ↓

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    1. Laura Leigh Goyer Post author

      Hi Tracy,

      It’s my favourite way to eat scallops! Between the creamy, rich white wine sauce and the melted cheese, you barely know they’re in there :-) I haven’t tried it, but I bet shrimp would also work well in this recipe.

      Thanks veyr much for stopping by,
      Laura

      Reply ↓
  7. Judit + Corina @WineDineDaily

    Oh Laura this scalop dish looks absolutely divine! Have to try soon :)

    Reply ↓
    1. Laura Leigh Goyer Post author

      Thank you so much! You can’t go wrong with a classic from Julia Child. If you do try the recipe please swing back by and let me know if you love it as much as I do.

      Thanks again for stopping by. :-)

      Reply ↓

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