RICH and filling, scallop mornay remains a popular traditional dish enjoyed for centuries
SCALLOP mornay is a traditional European dish which is as tasty as it gets. It’s basically a bechamel sauce with grated cheese, usually a gruyere or parmesan added to it. There’s two schools of thought as to its origin, with some saying it was named after a count of the same name back in the 16th Century in France, while others argue it was a later noble and a great French restaurant in the early 1800s who laid claim.
Either way, it’s as popular today as it was back then, and for good reason.
Surprisingly rich and filling, you never want to make more than you need.
My rule of thumb for this is to use the big commercial scallops with their large orange or pinkish roes, rather than the Pacific ones with the tiny roes. These stay on the scallops.
I generally work with six per person; this may not sound a lot, but believe me – it is enough when you add this gorgeous sauce to it.
I use breadcrumbs I already have on hand, but if doing this for a special occasion, I make fresh breadcrumbs, by pulsing day-old bread in a food processor until finely crumbed. It gives a great texture to the dish.
It is also a great way to use up stale bread and you can keep them in the freezer to use whenever breadcrumbs are required.
Make sure your scallops are thawed if using frozen ones.
Ingredients
24 scallops
¾ cup breadcrumbs
⅓ cup (40g) grated tasty or gruyere cheese
- Tbs finely chopped dill (dried will do)
25g butter, melted
- Tbs butter
½ cup white wine
Mornay sauce
25g butter
- Tbs plain flour
200ml milk
300ml cooking cream
Lemon pepper and salt to taste
½ cup (60g) grated gruyere or tasty cheese
Method:
Start with the mornay sauce ingredients. Add butter, add flour and stir over medium heat for a minute or two until well combined. Add milk, cream, salt and pepper and stir over the heat until it boils and thickens. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted.
In a frypan, melt the butter on a medium-hot heat, add scallops and quickly sear, before adding the wine and getting it to boiling stage. Do not overcook. Just boil for a couple of minutes and then remove scallops, reserving liquid.
The sauce for the scallops will be quite thick by now, so whisk again, and use some of the reserved liquid to thin it down to desired consistency, whisking away constantly.
Gently fold the scallops into the sauce.
Pour the mixture into four small oven-proof dishes. Combine breadcrumbs, remaining cheese, dill and butter and
scatter over the top.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200C until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately.
