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. 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 6
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 7
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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