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The Little Ferraro Kitchen

The Little Ferraro Kitchen

World Cuisine, Made Easy

Home » Julia Child’s Scallops Gratineed

Julia Child’s Scallops Gratineed

by Samantha · 15 Comments

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It is not every day that I say something like “I think this is the best thing I have ever had”, maybe once in a while, but it’s rare. This glorious dish is also known as Coquilles St. Jacques à la Provençale, doesn’t that sound beautiful? We all know that gratineed means cheese and to be quite frank I was skeptical to make this in the beginning. I have a very distinct rule about putting seafood with cheese and often forbid it. When I go out to a restaurant and order frutti di mare and the server asks if I would like Parmesan cheese on top..I squeal a quick “NO!” thinking hell may freeze over.

But when I saw some of the other bloggers showing off their perfected glazed scallops, I couldn’t resist. Some saying that this was the best thing they have ever had. And I must tell you….I happily agree.

All the ingredients for the dish I had on hand and the combination was magnificent. White wine was pungent, the swiss cheese was not nearly as overpowering as I originally thought and the sauteed onions and shallots took the sauce over the top. I sopped up the winey buttered broth with some French bread and licked my fingers clean with happiness. This is one of the best things I have ever had.

Method: 

1) In a skillet, saute onions in olive oil and 1 Tb butter until they begin to be translucent but not browned. Add garlic and shallots and cook for another minute. Set aside.

2) Dry scallops with a paper towel and slice them in half. Season with salt and pepper and right before you’re ready to saute, dust in flour, removing any excess.

3) In skillet, add oil and 1Tb butter and brown on each side. About 2 minutes on each side.

4) Once scallops are browned, pour the wine and water into the same skillet with the scallops. Add the thyme, bay leaf and onion mixture. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Then remove the cover and turn heat up to high to reduce the sauce for 1 minute. Taste for seasoning.

5) Place the scallops in a shallow oven proof dish and spoon sauce. Top with grated Swiss cheese and dot with butter. Right before serving, place under broiler for about 3 minutes to melt and lightly brown cheese.

Print Recipe
4.17 from 18 votes

Julia Child’s Scallops Gratineed

Excerpted from 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.
Author: Samantha Ferraro

Ingredients

  • 1/4 onion chopped
  • 1/2 shallot chopped
  • 1 garlic clove chopped
  • 5-6 scallops washed
  • 1/4 c flour
  • 3 Tb butter
  • 2/3 c white wine
  • 3 Tb water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 c grated Swiss cheese
  • 2-3 sprigs of thyme chopped
  • Olive oil for drizzling
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a skillet, saute onions in olive oil and 1 Tb butter until they begin to be translucent but not browned. Add garlic and shallots and cook for another minute. Set aside.
  • Dry scallops with a paper towel and slice them in half. Season with salt and pepper and right before you're ready to saute, dust in flour, removing any excess.
  • In skillet, add oil and 1Tb butter and brown on each side. About 2 minutes on each side.
  • Once scallops are browned, pour the wine and water into the same skillet with the scallops. Add the thyme, bay leaf and onion mixture. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Then remove the cover and turn heat up to high to reduce the sauce for 1 minute. Taste for seasoning.
  • Place the scallops in a shallow oven proof dish and spoon sauce. Top with grated Swiss cheese and dot with butter. Right before serving, place under broiler for about 3 minutes to melt and lightly brown cheese.

For more French recipes, check out Julia Child’s coq au vin recipe  or Julia Child’s Lobster Thermifor recipe

Bon Appetit!

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This post may contain amazon affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I will receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Filed Under: Dinner, French Recipes

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Comments

  1. Susan says

    August 10, 2012 at 9:56 am

    Just lovely Samantha! I hate to admit but I do break the seafood and cheese rule. Don’t get me wrong, there are some types of fish that I will never cross that line with, but I feel like with others you can make that exception. p.s. I think I have those exact same dishes!

    Reply
  2. Charlie says

    August 11, 2012 at 6:56 am

    Good Morning!

    Thanks so much for the recipe!

    I had these years ago in a restaurant and they were exquisite.

    They were so large and served in a shell dish, around the edges they had piped mashed potatoes, before they went under the broiler.

    They paired so well with the potatoes, and I have wanted them ever since.

    Have a Joyful Day :~D
    Charlie

    Reply
  3. kat says

    August 15, 2012 at 5:34 pm

    Oh yum!!! I can’t wait to give this a try! Thanks so much for the step by step instructions 🙂

    Reply
  4. April @ The 21st Century Housewife says

    March 26, 2013 at 3:45 am

    I love Scallops Gratineed and yours look divine! What a beautifully presented dish!

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      March 30, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Thank you so much for your compliment! It is really delicious..anything Julia 🙂

      Reply
    • Lesalina says

      March 20, 2014 at 2:45 pm

      I didn’t know there was a seafood and cheese rule! These look amazing though – just what I needed for some inspiration for the scallops I bought today at the market.

      Reply
      • Samantha says

        March 20, 2014 at 5:29 pm

        Haha…I always thought there was an unspoken rule to never marry cheese with fish…but rules are meant to be broken, right? Please let me know how the recipe turns out! This is so decadent!

        Reply
  5. Ted says

    November 16, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    I am from the East coast of Canada we love love love scallops
    Leaving the scallops to cook an extra 5 min would make them a little more rubbery than I would like

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      November 17, 2017 at 8:44 am

      I would think so too but they are quite soft and tender.

      Reply
    • wallatom says

      March 15, 2018 at 2:26 pm

      5 stars
      we thought so too, but they came out perfect

      Reply
  6. Sarah says

    December 11, 2017 at 4:04 pm

    A friend of mine made this and it was delicious! What do you recommend serving with it? I was thinking maybe steamed broccoli or roasted asparagus with mashed potatoes, but what do you think?

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      December 12, 2017 at 9:19 am

      Oh I think roasted asparagus would be lovely!! Or mashed parsnips to soak up all the delicious sauce. Honestly just some good crusty bread for the sauce would be heavenly!

      Reply
  7. Karen says

    April 26, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    I’m going to try this recipe with shrimp because I can’t find a good au gratin recipe for shrimp. I probably won’t cook the shrimp very long…can’t stand when they get ‘rubbery’. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      April 27, 2018 at 4:49 pm

      Oh I think shrimp would be lovely with this!! Please let me know how it comes out…I eat shrimp more often than scallops so I may try soon as well!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Happy (belated) Birthday, Julia Child! | Olivia + Alice says:
    August 20, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    […] so I decided to make a seafood first course, and a veggie side dish. For the first course, I made Julia’s Scallops Gratineed with the most beautiful sea scallops from the fish market down the […]

    Reply

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