Make-Ahead Coquilles St.-Jacques | Ina Garten

My New Year’s resolution for 2023 is to be more patient. So often I find myself rushed and racing against time, without much thought. Imagine running nonstop on the treadmill, which is hardly sustainable. Wouldn’t it be nice if I can stretch out t-i-m-e and, as a result, reducing some degree of stress in daily life? In any case, instead of beating my head and mind to become more patient, I believe it’s advantageous to restructure my activities in a different manner. That may also mean cooking differently. Since November, I’ve experimented with make-ahead recipes — the first being the Thanksgiving turkey. Now, I’ve found another great recipe in the make-ahead Coquilles St.-Jacques.

What defines a “great make-ahead recipe?” By and large, the dish has to taste as good, if not qualitatively better, than when it’s freshly made. It dawns on me during the holiday baking that you can easily make some cookie doughs ahead of time. Then freeze and bake later. One bite, you can tell that these cookies taste as good, if not superior, to a fresh batch of dough which heads straight to the oven. In some cases, the dough benefits from aging and for sitting around longer. With that revelation, I start looking for more make-ahead recipes which do not compromise on taste.

Coquilles St. Jacques À La Parisienne (scallops and mushroom in white wine sauce), featured in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, are classics. Scallops or fish filets are poached in white wine with mushrooms. You may prepare the dish ahead and gratinéed in their shells. All of it sounds so delicious that it should be in everyone’s repertoire. Somehow, Ina Garten comes along and simplifies the recipe and makes it easy to do for a dinner party. This is how she describes the process:

The cooking is a serial affair, not at all difficult. You create a roux of flour and butter, and add to it stock and cream, that magical dash of curry powder and some salt and pepper. You sauté shallots and mushrooms in a separate pan, and cook them off in a blaze of brandy. You add the mushrooms to the cream sauce, and set the mixture aside to cool. Pulse some fresh white bread in a food processor, and add to it parsley, grated Gruyère and a splash of olive oil… Your dinner will be a huge success and a benchmark of cook-it-ahead excellence.

Ina Garten’s party trick on making ahead

I won’t argue with success and the excellence of the make-ahead coquilles St.-Jacques.

Print Recipe

Make-Ahead Coquilles St.-Jacques

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups seafood stock, clam juice or low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 large shallots, peeled and diced, approximately 1 cup
• 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems discarded, sliced
• ¼ cup brandy or Cognac
• 1½ cups fresh bread crumbs (approximately 6 slices white bread, crusts removed, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor)
• ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 5 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds bay scallops, or quartered sea scallops, abductor muscles removed

Instructions

1

MAKE THE CREAM SAUCE: Set a saucepan over medium heat, and melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in it. When it foams, add the flour, and cook for approximately 4 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the stock, and whisk again, until it is smooth and thick. Add the cream, curry powder, 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring the sauce just to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

2

MAKE THE MUSHROOM-CREAM SAUCE: Put 3 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. When it melts and foams, add the shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are clear and tender, approximately 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushroom caps, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until they have released their liquid and are just starting to brown. Add the brandy or Cognac, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the alcohol has mostly evaporated. Add a teaspoon of salt to the mixture and ½ teaspoon of pepper, and stir again to combine. Add mushroom mixture to the cream sauce, and set aside.

3

MAKE THE CRUMB TOPPING: Combine the bread crumbs, parsley and Gruyère in a large bowl, stir to combine, then moisten the mixture with the olive oil, stirring again to combine.

4

ASSEMBLE THE GRATIN: Use last tablespoon of butter to grease 6 1½-cup gratin dishes. Divide the scallops evenly among them and top with the cream and mushroom sauce. Top each gratin dish with a handful or two of the bread-crumb mixture. Place dishes on a sheet tray, cover gently with foil or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to a day.

5

BAKE: When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove cover from sheet tray, and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and bubbling and the scallops are cooked through.

Notes

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7506-coquilles-st-jacques

Make Ahead Recipes by Ina Garten