The Nantucket Bay Scallop Company crew traveled to Boston in the middle of a nor’easter.  The show is amazing, held at the Boston Convention Center it is a cornucopia of food from the sea.  Lots of great ideas for Nantucket Bay Scallops, and great to meet some people with great products.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html

Nantucket Bay Scallop Souffle by Jacques Pepin

A delicious dish on a winter night.  Don’t be intimidated if this is your first souffle, there are plenty of youtube videos on how to whip your egg whites.  Perfect accompanied by a winter salad and white wine.

Yield:  An 8-cup gratin dish, serves 4 to 6

For the bay scallops:

1lb. Nantucket Bay Scallops
3 Tbs butter
1/3 cup minced shallot
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshy ground black pepper
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh chives

For the Souffle:

3 Tbs butter
4Tbs flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg, freshly ground, a large pinch
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
4 to 5 ounces good aged cheddar cheese
2 ro 3 Tbs finely ground fresh bread crumbs

Getting Ready

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Cut several thin slices of cheddar cheese to use for decorating the gratin and coarsely grte the remainder (about 3 oz.), for a cup or so of grated cheddar.

Sauteing the bay scallops

Pat the scallops dry on paper towels.  Melt the butter over high heat; stir in the shallots and cook for 1/2 minute to soften.  Add the bay scallops all at once, toss well with the shallots, and saute over very high heat.  let the bay scallops sear on one side for a very short time, they will cook as the souffle bakes in the oven.

Off the heat, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and the chopped chives over the scallops, toss to mix, then turn them with their liquid into the gratin dish, distributing them evenly.  With a pastry brush, coat the sides of the gratin with the buttery juices.

Making the bechamel souffle base

Melt the butter in the saucepan over high heat, add the flour, and whisk together to form a roux.  Cook for only 10 seconds or so, then pour in the milk, whisking and stirring to blend.

Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking continuously and occasionally clearing the sides of the pan.  Season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and a few gratings of nutmeg.  Reduce the heat and cook for another minute or tow, still whisking, as it bubbles and thickens.

Finishing the souffle

With the bechamel at a gentle boil, add the yolks to the saucepan all at once and whisk vigorously to blend.  Stirring continuously, heat the sauce until it just comes back to the boil, then remove from the heat.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and shiny in a large, perfectly clean bowlm by hand or with an electric mixer.

Scoop about one-third of the egg whites into the saucepan and whisk thoroughly and quickly into the warm sauce to loosen it.  Immediately pour all the sauce over the beaten egg whites in the mixing bowl and begin folding together with the rubber spatula, at the same time sprinkling in the grated cheese.  Continue folding until the souffle mixture is evenly blended.

Completing and decorating the Gratin

Pour all of the souffle over the scallops, smoothing the top with the spatula, filling the gratin dish in an even layer.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top.  Cut the cheddar cheese slices into diamonds or triangle shapes, about 1 to 2 inches long.  Place the gratin dish on a cookie sheet and set in the preheated oven.  Bake fore 25 or 30 minutes, until the souffle is puffy and the top is deeply colored.  Serve immediately.

Nantucket Bay Scallops wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon

Slice the bacon strips in thirds.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pre-cook bacon for 10-15 minutes, this prevents overcooking the scallops in the next step.  Cook until the edges of the bacon begin to brown, make sure they don’t get to crisp as you want them to be pliable enought to wrap around the bay scallops.

Nanutcket Bay Scallops are roughly 60 count to a pound so plan accordingly for the bacon to scallops ratio.  Since bacon varies dependent on thickness of the slice we will leave you with the math!

Wrap the scallops with the bacon and secure with a toothpick, place on a broiler pan and broil until crisp on the top, flip and crisp the bottom.  Watch closely so as not to overcook.  Serve immediately with slice lemon.