IMPORTANT: APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY IN POSTING THE NEXT RECIPE, THIS IS STARTING TO LOOK MORE LIKE RECIPE OF THE 6 WEEKS NOW BUT I'VE BEEN RUNNING AROUND A BIT. I'LL BE BACK SOON WITH A RED WINE RISOTTO, PROMISED.
Like most Italians the only thing that really captures my attention is devising strategies to satisfy my pantagruelian appetite. Please visit every fortnight (????) for a new cooking experiment.
Scallops au gratin a la Gilbert and George (appetizer)
Scallops, Home made bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Parsley, Extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, a working oven, a bowl, a spoon but not a teaspoon
Get as many scallops as you feel like. As a guide a couple of them for each of you should do as an appetizer.
Buy them with the shell, since that's the way you are going to cook them.
Get rid of the top part of the shell and wash under cold water the marvelous orange and white thing inside. Get rid of anything you don't want to put in your mouth, sand for example.
You can detach the white and orange soft part from the shell if it can be of help as long as you put it back on the shell for cooking.
Now whilst the scallops do their business you can prepare the mixture to be sprinkled on top of them.
I would strongly advice you against using stuff like PAXO or ready made bread crumbs brands which look terrible and taste even worse.
Either go for some high quality, finely grated bread crumbs or if you want DIY, it's not rocket science anyway.
Just get a loaf of bread (get something like a Turkish loaf of bread or a baguette, this kind of bread), leave it to dry in a paper bag somewhere not damp (otherwise mold will ensue) and when it's rock hard just grate it all. You can grate in great quantities if you feel like having a provision.
Ok, now you get a bowl and you put let's say a spoonful of breadcrumbs in for each scallop you are cooking. Then you add to the bowl a bit of finely chopped parsley and grate some fresh Parmesan cheese, say a spoon for every 4 spoonfuls of breadcrumbs. Now you can drink your first glass of white wine. Mix well the ingredients in the bowl and solemnly approach the scallops.
Place the scallops on the bottom part of their shells and sprinkle more or less a spoonful of the mixture from the bowl, if your scallops are quite big you can put a bit more, your aim is to cover them. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and just a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Hic. Drink your second glass of white wine.
Kindly accompany the scallops towards the oven you preheated at 200 C or something like that.
I mean, I'm not sure about how warm your oven should be. It shouldn't be too hot because that way the scallops will get really dry but at the same time it shouldn't be too cold otherwise it will take you hours to get them done. Find a good compromise on my behalf. Good, with the scallops in the oven you can relax for 10 minutes but this doesn't mean you are entitled to leave them alone.
I have never seen a dish who likes to cook itself alone.
Get a good read or a 3rd glass of wine and keep checking on them. A good way of doing this is to use a toothpick to gauge the firmness of the scallop's flesh. Your aim is to get the fleshy things firm and well cooked without them being dry. However, remember that the bread crumbish mixture should look a bit toasted.
Serve with a small rocket salad aside (seasoned as well with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt and pepper).
If this sounds really complicated to you is because I have just discovered that writing recipes is really difficult compared to actually implementing them.
Once you have delighted your palate please wash the shells and store them so that the next time you won't need to buy scallop and shell again.
