Recipe Scallop Rockefeller (Broiled Half Shell Scallop with Spinach Puree & Cheesy Herbs Crust Topping. This dish is a scallops version of oyster rockefeller. Scallops Rockefeller is consists of scallop on the half-shell, topped with various ingredients (often parsley, basil and other green herbs, a rich butter sauce and bread crumbs) and are then baked or broiled
The scallop rockefeller was named after John D. Rockefeller, the most whealthy American multi billionaire at the time, for the intense richness of the sauce. Though the original recipe is a secret, the sauce is known to be a puree of a number of green vegetables other than spinach. It consists of oysters on the half-shell topped with the sauce and bread crumbs and then baked. Scallop rockefeller topping is similiar to it’s relatives french dish; Escargot ( baked snail with herbs butter)
My scallops rockefeller got a little bit kick from the chili that i used within the topping. I can’t help it, my Indonesian licking always need some chillies for almost every dish. I make some dry chili relish by sauteeing the chopped shallots and garlic until browned and caramelized first, then i add finely chopped fresh bird eye chilli and stirred it well until all ingredients soften a little bit. The final touch is add some anise flavoured liquor, eversince it’s not easy to get here in Indonesia, i’m using some white wine instead and add freshly grated star anise into it.
Though many restaurants around the world serve dishes purporting to be oysters Rockefeller, chef Antoine’s claims that no other restaurant has been able to successfully duplicate the recipe. well, since the sighnature dish recipe is seems so sacret, competing restaurants have had to formulate their own recipes.
Now, forget the authentic rockefeller sauce recipe, we’ll gonna made Dentist Chef scallops Rockefeller. The fresh, plump and representative size US scallops seared first using blowtorch flames to make a nice crust in the outside layer without any chance to cooked the internal meat. You can use a sizzling skillet too for searing the scallop, but it tend to cooked the scallop and it’s more likely to be overcooked once it baked or broiled.
This is the scallops rockefeller topping ingredients; breadcrumbs, butter, chili relish, grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and green herbs. The green herbs is mixture of very finely chopped parsley, basil leaves and garlic chives. The chili relish is made of sauteed garlic and shallots with olive oil until browned and caramelized, finely chopped deseeded chili then added and sautee until nice and throughly cooked. The authentic rockefeller sauce usually contain anise flavoured liquor but i replace it by glazing the chili relish with dry white wine and a little bit of freshly grated star anise and let all the moisture evaporated before mix it with the breadcrumbs topping.
The scallops rockefeller crust basic ingredients for making a crispy and crumbly topping for the baked half shell scallop is a finely chopped herbs, butter and breadcrumbs. All ingredients must be dry and had a very little amount of moisture, so it’s important you wiped away the fresh green herbs before chopped; in the other hand, the chili relish must be dry enought before added into the breadcrumbs unless the crust topping will become soggy.
I add extra grated parmigiano-regiano cheese to the topping to finish it before putting the half shell scallop rockefeller into the broiler oven. I love grated parmigiano-reggiano for topping any crust because it’s melted easily and act as a bonding agen for the topping. The grated parmigino reggiano cheese allow the moisture evaporates from the topping once it broiled in the oven. Do not to eager to add too many parmigiano reggiano cheese to cover the breadcrumbs topping, unless the moisture is locked and the result is soggy and pale topping covered on cheese crust.
The authentic recipe for rockefeller sauce is remain as a secret eversince the founder chef Antoine’s refused to publicised the recipe, including denial the using of spinach on it. This secrecy even intrigues William Poundstone in Bigger Secrets in 1986 to analised it and found that primary ingredients were parsley, celery, scallions or chives, olive oil, and capers, hence i add spinach and also the fragrance green herbs for Dentist Chef version of scallops Rockefeller.
My version of scallops rockefeller got a base of scallops on the shalf shell, then a bed of butter favoured chopped spinach placed on it. The plump and juicy scallops which is previously seared with blowtorch flames place, then topped with a mixture of green herbs infused butter and breadcrumbs that later broiled until crusted.
Recipe Scallops Rockefeller (Broiled Half Shell Scallop with Spinach Puree and Basil-Parsley-Chives Breadcrumbs Crust) :
- 24 half-shelled scallops
- 1/4 cup chopped shallots
- 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic chives
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 tbsp finely chopped deseeded Cayenne Chili Pepper
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
- 1/3 cup anise flavoured liquor (i replace with dry white wine & grated anise star)
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 100 gr grated Parmigiano Regianno cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp mixed dried italian herbs (Thyme, Oregano, Sage, Basil, Parsley, Marojam and Rosemarry
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
How to Make Broiled Scallop with Spinach Herbs Crust (Scallop Rockefeller Recipe) :
A. Cleaning the Half Shell Scallops
- Scrub the scallop shell throughly with a plastic brush
- Carefully open the scallop shell and scrap the scallop meat from the shell with a spoon, remove any dirt and impurities
- Discard the innard and the roe, set aside
- Rinse the scallop meat thoroughly and season with salt and pepper, patted dry and set aside
B.Preparing the Scallop Rockefeller Topping
- Heat 1 tbsp butter in a sauce pan, sautee 1 tbsp garlic and 1 tbsp shallot until slighly brown, add the baby spinach leaves and stir until all spinach leaves wilted and the moisture evaporated.
- Put the spinach mixture in a chopping board and finely chopped it with knives or process it until fine in a food proccesor, set aside
- Heat up 1 tbsp butter in the pan, saute the remaining shallot, garlic and chili until slighly browned, pour the anise flavoured liquor and stir until the moisture evaporated, set aside.
- In another pan, heat 1 tbsp butter and add the galic chives, basil, and parsley then stir it until all leaves wilted, put the herbs mixture in a chopping board or process it until fine in a food proccesor, set aside.
- Mix half part of the spinach puree with the herbs mixture puree, combine it with the remaining butter, 50 grams of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese,chili relish, breadcrumbs with pastry cutter until mixed well
C. Making The Scallop Rockefeller:
- Patted dry the scallop, seared with blowtorch flames or with sizzling hot skillet
- Put 1 teaspoon of spinach puree over the scallop shell, then put the seared scallop over the spinach puree
- Topped the scallop with the herbs and spinach breadcrumbs mixture
- Put the remaining grated parmigiano-regianno cheese over the breadcrumbs
- Bake scallops in pre-heated oven of 220°C for 5-7 minutes until the herbs and spinach crumbs browned
