CookEat Recipe
Fish Gratin in Scallop Shells
Six small shell-shaped servings of chopped cooked fish in béchamel enriched with Parmesan and egg yolks, lightly browned in the oven.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 130 g cooked boneless hake flesh; start with about 170 g raw boneless hake if poaching it now; 20 g grated Parmesan; 20 g plain flour; 25 g butter: 20 g for the béchamel and 5 g for the dishes; 2 egg yolks; 250 ml milk; Salt and black pepper.
Step 2
Use six palm-sized oven-safe food-use scallop shells, thoroughly cleaned, or six small oven-safe shell-shaped dishes. Butter their interiors with the reserved 5 g cold butter and arrange securely on a baking tray. Heat the oven to 190°C.
Step 3
If starting with raw hake, gently poach it in plain water for about 6–10 minutes until the thickest flesh reaches 70°C, then drain and weigh out 130 g cooked flesh. Remove every bone and chop the fish. Previously cooked fish must have been cooled promptly, stored at 4°C or colder and used within 1–2 days.
Step 4
Melt the remaining 20 g butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook gently for 1 minute without browning, then gradually whisk in the milk. Simmer and stir for about 5 minutes until a smooth béchamel forms. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan.
Step 5
When the sauce is no longer boiling, mix in the two yolks and chopped fish, then season with salt and pepper.
Step 6
Divide among the six prepared shells and bake for about 15–20 minutes, until the centre of every portion reaches 74°C and the top is only lightly browned. Serve hot.
Step 7
Grey mullet can replace the hake, using the same cooked weight and poaching method. Legally sourced smoothhound shark can also be used, with the same cooked weight and endpoint; it is a higher-mercury fish, so follow the applicable consumption advice and do not substitute another shark species. Health Canada limits the combined intake of higher-mercury fish to 150 g per week for the general population, 150 g per month for people who are pregnant, may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, 125 g per month for children aged 5–11 and 75 g per month for children aged 1–4.
Step 8
For the chicken version, replace the fish with 130 g chopped cooked chicken and retain all the other quantities and steps. If cooking it now, poach about 170 g boneless chicken until at least 74°C, then weigh out 130 g cooked meat. Add to the yolk-enriched béchamel and bake as above until each portion reaches 74°C. Properly chilled cooked chicken may be used within 2–3 days; reheat it only once.
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