Capesante al Gratin

Scallop au gratin

Capesante al Gratin are a tasty and classic starter, mainly served during Christmas dinners. In the most classic recipe the scallops are cooked au gratin, covering the mollusc with a mixture made of breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and grinded cheese.

 Ingredients (Makes 4 Servings)

• 1 slice of garlic
• 250 ml of broth
• 8 Capesante
• ½ glass of oil or butter
• 80 gr of breadcrumbs
• 50 gr of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• Pepper
• 2 spoons of grinded parsley

Preparation

1- Clean out capesante carefully, they should be cleaned by separating them from their nut, washing them carefully and wiping them. The nut is typically used to serve them, so it is recommended to wash it as well, even using steel wool.
Before cooking make sure to remove their filamentous and darker parts. Wash them under running water, as there is often some sand inside them. To open them, you can use a knife or, more simply, just throw them into hot water for a moment.

2- Prepare the stuffing for the au gratin: In a bowl mix breadcrumbs with parsley, cheese, grinded garlic, pepper, half of the oil and broth, and mix so as to obtain a homogenous; creamy but not liquid paste.

3- Put all the capesante up on a baking sheet, after removing the nut's upper part, and cover them with the paste you prepared, wetting them with some oil.

4- Prewarm your oven up to 200C and cook your capesante ten minutes or until the paste is well gilded. Serve hot.

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes, Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Scallops

Capesante are very fine molluscs similar to oysters. Capasanta is a bivalve mollusc that has two red-orange shells bound together by a mobile 14-16 ribbed hinge. The upper hinge has a more intense colour than the lower one, which is paler and curved. Inside the shell there is the mollusc, which has a white and firm part (the nut) and the orange and more dampish part (the reef).

The capasanta's inner part is very firm and tender, but not gummy, and it is very tasty both raw and cooked. The reef (the orange part) is creamier than the white. Capesante are widespread in the Mediterranean's sandy depths, while in the North Sea there is just one variety, the Pecten Maximus. 

In the market you can find both the national and the Atlantic product, which is cheaper but less tasty. In fish shops these molluscs are typically sold half-opened and partly cleaned out. They are also sold frozen, though they lose their typical fragrance if purchased this way. The best time of year to eat scallops is from May to August inclusive, even though they can be fished throughout the year. To be sold the Capesante's diameter must be at least 10cm. Like lobsters, capasanta is typically sold alive so as to ensure its freshness. When buying ensure that the shell is well closed otherwise the inner mollusc could be dead. If fresh the mollusc has a bright color (white is candid, orange is bright). Do not purchase if the nut is broken of the color is greyish.