Scallop Gratin (Coquilles Saint-Jacques)

This scallop gratin is the perfect make ahead starter or light lunch.

King prawns and queen scallops, or queenies, arecovered in a creamy, white wine sauce and then grilled with Parmesan breadcrumbs.

It's definitely a match made in heaven!

But, it's also really easy to make and change the seafood to your taste.

Bon appétit!   

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Grilling Time
• 🥗 Serve with
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• Seafood
• In case you mised the last recipes!
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Simple to make with no special skills.
• Perfect for making ahead.
• Easy to customise with other fish or shellfish.
• Classic French dish.
• Great as a lunch or starter.
• Ready in 10 minutes.

I've always loved scallops and cannot resist the plump and juicy king scallops, that this traditional French dish of coquilles sainte-jacques is famous for. Typically, these scallops au gratin are served in their shell, but you can use any small shallow dish.

However, the price of these scallops and availability is another matter, so I'm using a mixture of queen scallops, which are smaller and much easier to find frozen all year round, and king prawns, which will cook in the same time.

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🥘 Ingredients

A few notes on some of the ingredients.

• Queen scallops - available frozen or fresh in most large supermarkets.
• Cream - double or heavy cream.
• Fish stock - this is only a small amount, so feel free to use half of a fish stock cube to make this.
• Panko breadcrumbs - I find these better than normal breadcrumbs as they have more of a crunch.
• Shallot - use the banana ones as they are marginally easier to peel!

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Grater
• 4 shallow gratin dishes or scallop shells
• Medium frying pan
• Slotted Spoon

🔪 Instructions

Dry the prawns and scallops on kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper just before cooking.

Finely chop the shallot and parsley and finely grate the Parmesan.

Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the scallops and prawns in one layer.

Cook for about 3 minutes, turning once or until the shellfish is opaque.

Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

Add the chopped shallots to the remaining butter in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes until softened but not coloured.

Add the wine and stock to the pan and let it bubble for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in the cream, half of the chopped parsley and mustard then heat through for about 2 minutes until slightly reduced.

Check the seasoning.

The sauce will be quite thin. If you prefer a thicker sauce, stir through a little cornflour mixed with water.

Drain any liquid from the shellfish and divide between four serving dishes.

Pour the sauce over the top.

Mix the panko with the Parmesan and sprinkle over the top.

⏲️ Grilling Time

Place under a medium to high grill (about 250C, 480F), for about 2 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Scatter over the remaining parsley before serving the scallop gratin.

🥗 Serve with

• Crusty baquette or bread spread with butter and then toasted - perfect for mopping up the last remnants of sauce.
• Salad - if you are serving the coqilles saint-jacques as more of a meal for lunch, then a simple tomato salad would be perfect.

🥙 Substitutions

• Queen scallops - use king scallops either sliced into 3 discs or left whole but cooked through as per instructions for scallops here.
• King prawns - use any raw or cooked prawns, just skip the frying if using cooked as they will just need warming through.
• White wine - mix white wine vinegar with water or leave it out.
• Parmesan - use a strong cheese like Gruyère.
• Panko - use plain readymade breadcrumbs or blitz some white bread and bake at home.
• Dijon - use English mustard but only half the amount.

📖 Variations

• Fish - use chunks of fish sich as cod, salmon or monkfish.
• Shellfish -prawns mussels, crayfish, lobster and clams would all work well.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - store covered for up to 2 days.
• Freezer  - not suitable for freezing.
• To reheat - on the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 for 5 minutes or until bubbling.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make the dish to the final step before adding the remaining parsley. Cover and refrigerate overnight reheat in the oven as above.

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More fish dishes to try

• Bourride de Lotte
• Fried Monkfish with Chorizo
• Mussels in White Wine
• Oysters
• Stuffed Calamari
• Lobster Mayonnaise
• Poor Man's Lobster with Thermidor Sauce
• Scallops with Black Pudding
• French Seafood Stew
• Baked Seafood Parcels
• Cod Mornay with Prawns
• Scallops with Chorizo

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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In case you mised the last recipes!