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Scallops, Scalloped

Scalloped scallops are baked scallops in shells with breadcrumbs, parsley, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Scallops, Scalloped

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the scallops

  1. Procure fresh scallops and open them.

  2. Remove the gills and black portions, leaving the yellow and white parts.

  3. Wash the scallops in two or three waters and drain them.

Prepare the shells

  1. Scour and rinse the shells. Dry the shells.

  2. Butter the shells thickly.

Fill and bake

  1. Mince the scallops.

  2. Mix the minced scallops with ½ cup grated bread crumbs, ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.

  3. Sprinkle a few bread crumbs in the shells. Shake off the excess bread crumbs.

  4. Fill the shells with the scallop mixture.

  5. Cover with more bread crumbs. Dot with butter.

  6. Place the shells in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until heated through and browned on top.

  7. Serve the scallops hot in the shells on a folded napkin, with vinegar on the side.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,588 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Scallops
Form the main filling and provide the delicate seafood flavour.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and form a crisp, golden topping that browns in the oven.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the topping brown and crisp.

The step that matters

Placing the shells in the oven until browned on top. Scallops cook quickly and become tough and rubbery if overheated, so they should be heated only until just cooked through while the crumb topping browns.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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