Coquilles St-Jacques is the perfect Christmas Eve appetizer! Shrimps and scallops combined with a creamy bechamel sauce, topped with cheese and surrounded by a ring of mashed potatoes. A decadent seafood dish!
The first time I enjoyed Coquilles St-Jacques was at an Italian banquet with my husband and it was love at first bite! Where had this dish been all my life?
Coquilles St-Jacques is a rich, savory dish filled with seafood in a creamy béchamel sauce, topped with cheese and mashed potatoes. What's not to love?
At my house, Coquilles St-Jacques has become a Christmas Eve tradition, served as an appetizer. In fact it is the only dish on my menu that has never changed throughout the years.
Jump to:
Origin of Coquilles St-Jacques
Coquilles St-Jacques is a French dish and also known as scallops St-Jacques. Tranlated in English this means "shell of St-James".
After some research, I read that the scallop shell symbolizes St-James. According to legend, when the remains of St-James were being transported from Spain to Jerusalem, a knight's horse fell into the water and emerged covered in scallop shells.
Interesting, however I'm still not certian what that has to do with scallops served in a shell!
Regardless of the origins of this dish, the Italian population of Montreal has adopted it as their own and added an Italian twist to it. More specifically the topping of mozzarella cheese as opposed to the original gruyère cheese.
Ingredient List
Seafood:
For the béchamel sauce:
Other ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Cheese: for topping such as mozzarella or Gruyère
- Chopped parsley
- White wine
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
How to make Coquilles St-Jacques
- Boil 1 lb of potatoes (about 3 large potatoes) until tender. Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel sauce: melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Do not allow it to brown.
- Whisk in flour until it forms a thick paste.
- Slowly whisk in milk and stir.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Set the bechamel sauce aside.
- Rinse and pat dry scallops and shrimp. If using frozen seafood, defrost completely and pat dry. In a large skillet sauté onion until transluscent. Add thinly sliced mushrooms and continue cooking until all their water has evaporated.
- Add shrimp and scallops and cook for a few minutes. Pour in white wine and cook until it has evaporated.
- At this point, if there is a lot of liquid in the pan you may choose to drain it. Pour the seafood mixture in a large bowl and stir in the prepared bechamel sauce. Add a handful of freshly chopped parsley.
- Divide the mixture among 4 scallop shells.
- Mash the boiled potatoes and add salt and butter or olive oil, as you prefer. Pipe the mashed potatoes around the seafood mixture using a pastry bag or in a pinch, place the mashed potatoes in a plastic freezer bag and snip off the end. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. You may turn on your broiler at the end of cooking to brown the cheese if you wish. Serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
Crab meat or pollock may also be added to the seafood mixture.
Gruyère cheese can be substitued for the mozzarella in this recipe.
If you don't have scallop shells, ramekins may be substitued. Another alternative is to bake the entire recipe in a casserole dish and serve buffet style.
The seafood mixture and bechamel sauce can be prepared and refrigerated a day ahead. On the day of serving, prepare the mashed potatoes and assemble just before baking.
Yes, definitely! Coquilles St-Jacques can also be frozen once assembled but prior to baking. Defrost in the refrigerator the night before baking.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how much you enjoyed it in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Coquilles St-Jacques Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb potatoes about 3, peeled
For the bechamel sauce:
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- pinch of salt and pepper
For the seafood filling:
- 340 grams medium sized shrimp about 16, peeled and deveined
- 340 grams small scallops
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small small onion diced
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup white wine
- handful freshly chopped parsley
For assembling:
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or gruyère if you prefer
Instructions
- In a medium sized sauce pan, place potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil, add salt then lower to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Prepare the bechamel sauce:
- In a small sauce melt the butter on medium heat. Add the flour and stir with a whisk until a paste is formed. Gradually whisk in the milk, stir and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is has thickened.
Prepare the seafood filling:
- Meanwhile, rinse the shrimp and scallops. Drain well and pat dry.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and sauté until softened. Add mushrooms and cook until they have released their water and it has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add shrimp, scallops and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour in white wine and cook until it has evaporated. At this point, drain the seafood if there is a lot of liquid in the pan. Tranfer seafood to a bowl.
- Pour the sauce over the seafood and stir to combine. Stir in chopped parsley.
Assemble:
- Preheat oven at 350°F. Divide the seafood among 4 scallop shells placed on a baking sheet.
- When the potatoes have cooked, mash them as desired with milk, butter or olive oil and salt. Place the potatoes in a pastry bag with star tip or in a freezer bag with the tip snipped off. Pipe the potatoes around the seafood filling.
- Top each shell with shredded mozzarella.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. If desired, at the end of cooking time broil for a minute or two to brown the cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Nantucket Seafood Natural B...Shop on Amazon
John
You might want to check your ingredients. I says, "1 cup cup milk". Is that supposed to be 1 cup whole milk?
Nadia
Thanks John, got it! Yes it is whole milk.
Connie
Hi Nadia, glad to have found you, in all my years cooking seafood, this is my first time making the
coquilles St Jacques, and WOW this was so delicious, followed your recipe as is and turned out amazing,
I did the 8 portion and really filled up generously 6 shells size 7-1/4 , my family loved it.
thank you
Nadia
Hi Connie, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed your coquilles! They are a must for us each Christmas Eve. Thanks for sharing this with me!
Merryn Galluccio
I love a good seafood pie and this is certainly full of lovely flavours.
Nadia
Thank you Merryn, it is quite tasty indeed. Thanks for your feedback!
Lea
Looks DELICIOUS!
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thanks Lea!