This weekend, the pretty seaside town of Villers-sur-Mer on the Côte Fleurie will host its hotly-anticipated Fête de la Coquille St-Jacques! In keeping with this key event in Normandy’s culinary calendar, we’ve scoured all our favourite cookbooks and selected this delicious recipe for scallop and courgette crumble pie from Chef Éric Lanlard’s cookbook ‘Tart It Up‘. Rather fittingly, this recipe also features in the brand new French foodie magazine, Taste of France, which went on sale for the very first time today!
Scallop and courgette crumble pie
These cute little casseroles make a perfect starter for a dinner party or lunch – the crunchy topping is a great contrast to the creamy filling.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 75g (3oz) unsalted butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 carrots, finely diced
- 3 leeks (only the white part), sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
- ½ tbsp chopped dill
- 300g (10 oz) courgettes, diced
- 200ml (7fl oz) fish stock
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp of dry white wine
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 12 fresh shelled scallops, ready cleaned, defrosted if frozen
- 30 fresh peeled king prawns
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the crumble topping
- 65g (2½oz) unsalted butter, chopped into pieces
- 175g (6oz) wholemeal flour
- 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 50g (2oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Heat the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the carrots and leeks, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C)/350°F/gas mark 4. Add the tarragon, dill and courgettes to the pan and stir, cover and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a small saucepan, heat up the fish stock. Whisk in the flour a little at a time, then simmer for 1 minute. In a jug mix together the wine and cream, add to the hot stock, then season.
- Place 2 scallops and 5 prawns in each of 6 mini casserole dishes. Spoon the vegetable mixture on top and pour over the liquid mixture.
- To make the crumble, rub all the ingredients together with the tips of your fingers until you get a chunky type of breadcrumb. Cover each casserole with a good layer of the crumble.
- Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the topping is nice and golden and the sauce is bubbling. Serve straight away, with soda bread to soak up all the delicious juices.
For more information on food and drink in Normandy, visit the Normandy Tourism website. For more information on visiting the Fête de la Coquille St-Jacques in Villers-sur-Mer this weekend, visit the Calvados Tourism website.
Recipe by Eric Lanlard from ‘Tart it Up’ published by Octopus Books | Photography © Kate Whitaker
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