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.