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Monday, March 8, 2010

scallop gratin

this is a dish fancy enough to entertain, but is remarkably easy to prepare, especially if you have a two year old to do all the sprinkling for you. it's a barefoot contessa recipe that i've been meaning to prepare for ages. it looks very pretty in individual dishes, but the taste won't be in any way diminished in a larger dish.


i had to adapt the recipe to fit what i had in the fridge, which did not contain pernod - nor will it ever, because i don't appreciate anise-flavoured beverages - and so i used only a demisec romanian white wine, which worked quite well. i don't believe it suffered at all. also omitted the shallot and substituted the fresh parsley with dried herbes de provence. and i don't like to dirty up the mixer when the job is easily done by hand. the official dishwasher isn't home.


please use the link above if you care to see the recipe. scale it, adapt it, do what you like but do not give up the garlic, the prosciutto, the lemon, and do use panko. regular breadcrumbs will never work as well. i skipped the wine on the bottom, and i added an extra layer of panko mixed with parmesan on top. zhara had a ton of fun, and once the gratin was in the oven she refused to get down, saying she's not done cooking. so i finally could take a few pictures of her.

11 comments:

  1. Dana,
    The Gratin looks terrific! A recipe from Ina means its a winner hands down! She certainly knows how to bake and so do you, dear girl! BTW, your daughter is so cute. Looks like we have a future baker.

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  2. Zhara is so adorable!.. so engrossed in cooking..

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  3. Aww, Zhara looks so cute. Not done cooking... ha! The gratin looks really nice... going to check out the recipe!

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  4. I love those Ina Garten recipes! Everything I make from her books turn out great the first time. I'm not a huge lover of anise-flavored anything (other than fennel) so I love your substitution!

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  5. cool lassi(e), thanks for the kind words! zhara really is very involved, and it works for me, too as before i had to stop every five minutes and cater to some whim. it all goes much faster now that cooking holds her attention!!

    uma, that's very nice of you to say, thanks!

    karen, it took me another 15 to get her off that chair!! hope you'll try it, it really is very good.

    jessica, it's an honor to see you here. i've been admiring your blog for a good while now! thank you so much!

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  6. She is one serious cutie, Dana! I can see her now, sprinkling on one panko flake at a time.. :)

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  7. Un plat de Saint-Jacques est toujours très bon.
    Ton gratin semble délicieux.
    A bientôt.

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  8. un gratin copieux et très savoureux, j'adore
    bonne soirée

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  9. Beautiful pictures! Zhara is such a cutie. I love how much she's concentrating on her "cooking".

    The Barefoot Contessa is one of my heroes. Her book is one of the first I bought when I started to cook. Her recipes very adaptable and always good. Those scallops look awesome.

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  10. What delicious photos, so tempted to pick up the utensil and dig right in. I think I would've gone without the pernod too, definitely sounds tasty without it.

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