If you love scallops, you’ll absolutely love Scallops St. Jacques. Sea scallops are poached in a wine flavored broth, tossed in a creamy sauce riddled with sauteed shallots and mushrooms, then topped with cheese and buttered crumbs. How does that sound?
Scallops St. Jacques is a dish I’ve been preparing for either special occasions or for a quick weeknight dinner. It's simple to prepare as long as you have all the ingredients in place and read the recipe through once or twice. Scallops aren't cheap so you want to get it right.
I use sea scallops for this recipe which are nice and large. When cooked properly, the scallops slice easily with a fork, taste sweet, and their texture is like butter. To get them right, make sure you keep an eye on them and don’t walk away as they cook, or you’ll have hard balls that are quite rubbery. Who wants rubbery hard balls? Not me.
First, add the scallops into a 4 or 5 quart saucepan and add the wine along with just enough water to cover. I use about ¾ of a cup. Add a good pinch of salt and bring it just to a boil. Lower the heat and cook just until they turn white - about 1 to 2 minutes. We don’t want to fully cook the scallops because we are going to bake them for about 8 - 10 minutes and finish with a broil. The whole purpose of this is to get them opaque on the outside while still raw on the inside and to flavor the broth. Ok? Ok.
Now take those delicious scallops and coat them with sauteed shallots and mushrooms that are mixed with the broth, then add some heavy cream and cheese to take it to the next level.
You can serve these on some scalloped dishes for single servings or in a shallow casserole dish. Whichever you choose, just top with some more cheese, buttered breadcrumbs, and some chopped parsley for color and a little freshness.
Once the toppings are added in, the scallops are broiled. Place the rack on the middle position because we are going to bake these for a few minutes before we broil them making the top nice and golden. Once the top is golden and bubbling, the dish is done.
Take a bite and I bet your eyes will roll back and a slight moan will escape before you remember you’re actually eating your dinner and hopefully no one will notice what just happened. These go well with perfect mashed potatoes and your favorite steamed vegetable.
If you love scallops St. Jacques, you must try these other delicious seafood dishes:
Roasted crispy salmon cakes - best you'll ever have
Peruvian tuna pancakes - absolutely delicious!
Life is too short for mediocre food.
Have you seen these?
Scallops St. Jacques
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 pounds sea scallops
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup water or more to cover scallops
- Kosher salt to taste
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 5 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 medium shallots diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 ounces grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese 1 cup
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- If using individual shells or gratin dishes, arrange them on a baking sheet for easy removal. If making this into a casserole, have a 2 quart dish ready.
- Place rack in the middle position of the oven and preheat oven to 350°.
Prepare scallops:
- Place scallops, wine and a good pinch of salt in a 3 quart saucepan. Add enough water to just cover scallops. Heat until it starts to boil then remove from heat. The scallops should start to look opaque. Remove scallops with a slotted spoon into a bowl and cover. Covering will retain heat and continue to cook the scallops. Return pot to burner and heat reserved liquid to boiling and boil until reduced to about 1 cup - over is better than under. Transfer into a measuring cup. It can be the same one used for heavy cream. Just combine the two.
Make cream sauce:
- In the same (now empty) saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and saute shallots until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms along with a sprinkle of salt and saute until mushrooms are softened and release some of their liquid.
- Stir in the tarragon.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir to cook flour for about 1 minute.
- Stir in the the lemon juice, the reserved liquid, and the heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in ½ of the grated cheese. Taste sauce and adjust for salt.
- Add the scallops and stir to coat and to warm up scallops.
Assemble:
- Divide the scallops evenly into 6 baking shells. If making this in a casserole, transfer everything into a 2 quart shallow casserole dish.
- Divide the remaining cheese and sprinkle evenly over the baking shells or on top of casserole.
- Combine the panko and chopped parsley with the melted butter and sprinkle evenly over each shell or evenly on top of casserole.
Bake:
- Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes then broil until the crumbs are golden and toasted and the cheese is bubbly.
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