Coquilles St. Jacques on St. James’ Feast Day

It’s St. James’ Feast Day, so this is what we had for dinner. It’s the classic Coquilles St. Jacques, simmered briefly in vermouth and then enrobed in sauce and browned briefly in the broiler. A green salad, some bread, and perhaps some white wine to round off the menu and you’re good to go.

And as always Jenn Miller over at Catholic Culture gives us some great material for reading to the kids at the dinner table.

We might not be able to make the medieval pilgrimage journey to Santiago de Compostela, but this feast gives us a chance to think of the physical journey of the pilgrim, and remind us of the spiritual journey we are making.

Coquilles Saint Jacques

2 shallots, chopped finely
2/3 cup French vermouth (I like this one)
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
water
1 lb. sea scallops (bay scallops are fine too)
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
the juice of 1/2 lemon or to taste
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Gruyere or other Swiss cheese

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the shallots, vermouth, salt and bay leaf to a boil. Just when it reaches boiling point, bring down the heat to low and simmer 3 minutes. Add scallops and enough water to almost cover the scallops, but not quite, about 1/2 cup. Simmer scallops, covered, 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and steep 10 minutes so that the scallops absorb the flavors.

Remove scallops to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain cooking liquid into a liquid measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup water. If you have more, return to saucepan briefly and boil to reduce to 1 cup.

While liquid is boiling, in a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the flour and butter. Cook for a few minutes, whisking but do not allow to brown. When thick, add the cooking liquid, a squeeze of lemon juice to taste, and 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream. Whisk until smooth and add salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste. Fold in scallops.

Distribute scallops into clean scallop shells set on a baking sheet. (You can also use ramekins, or small baking dishes, or a shallow baking pan; even a pie pan would work.) Sprinkle with grated Gruyere.

Broil about 3 minutes or until tops are brown.