Friulian Scallops Gratin, Capesante Gratinate

A deliciously simple Scallop Gratin from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, baked in a good parsley and onion butter and topped with breadcrumbs. These scallops are solid served as a starter, they're elegant, easy and good and ready in 25 minutes.

This is an incredibly good recipe from Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy.

Although simple, it's one of those recipes that completely surprises you and tastes so much more good than you imagine it will.

We love serving scallops as a starter on special occasions, they're so elegant, always good and simple to put together.

If you have softened butter, this recipe will be ready in no time and it's great for prepping ahead so you can pop them in the oven before serving.

Love this recipe? check out our Italian Stuffed Mussels (Cozze Gratinate) they're good and make the solid appetizer for feeding a crowd.

See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos and tips. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Scallops – We recommend using fresh scallops if possible. If they have the roe attached it's up to you if you'd like to keep them attached (fine either way). wash them well in cold running water and pat them dry.
• Butter – use unsalted butter, softened at room temperature.
• Onion – we use sweet white onion but you could use shallot instead.
• Fine breadcrumbs – make sure they are unseasoned! You can also use panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs.

Step by step photos and instructions

1. Finely chop – finely chop the onion then run your knife over it a couple of times to get it extra fine. Do the same with the parsley (step 1).
2. Make the butter – add the softened butter to a bowl and add the onion, parsley and a small pinch of salt. Stir everything together until thoroughly combined (photos 2 and 3).

1. Assemble and bake – place the scallops on their shells on a baking tray (or use ramekins) and sprinkle each one lightly with salt. Dollop 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each scallop followed by 1 teaspoon of breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven at 200C (400F) for 8-9 minutes (photo 4).

Recipe Tips

• Prep the scallops – wash the scallops well in cold water and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Store them in the fridge until needed.
• Scallop roe – if you're buying scallops from your fishmonger they'll likely still have the roe attached. It's up to your personal preference if you'd like to keep the roe attached or not and it won't affect the cooking time if you do.
• Scallop shell alternative (for serving) – if you don't have scallop shells for serving you can use ramekins which is the next best thing or a small baking tray although you'll need to spoon some butter over each scallop when serving if using a tray.

Can we prepare these in advance?

Yes, you can prepare the scallops up until the point of baking and store them in the fridge. It's important to eat scallops as fresh as possible so we'd prep them max 1 day in advance.

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Pasta

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 8 fresh scallops (washed and patted dry)
• 9 tablespoons (130g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 small white onion (finely chopped (50g))
• 1 small handful (15g) flat-leaf parsley
• 8 teaspoons fine breadcrumbs
• Salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C)

2. Finely chop the onion and parsley then run your knife over them a few times so they're extra fine and roughly the same amount in volume.

3. Add the butter, onion and parsley to a bowl with a pinch of salt and mix until thoroughly combined.

4. Wash the scallops and pat dry (we like to remove the roe if attached but you can leave it on if you prefer, see notes on how to remove).

5. Season the scallops with a light sprinkling of salt then place them in their shells on a baking tray.

6. Dollop around 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each scallop then sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of breadcrumbs.

7. Bake the scallops for 8-9 minutes.

Kitchen notes

• 1. Prep the scallops rinse the scallops well in cold water and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Store them in the fridge until needed.
  2. Scallop roe if you're buying scallops from your fishmonger they'll likely still have the roe attached. It's up to your personal preference if you'd like to keep the roe attached or not and it won't affect the cooking time if you do.
  3. To remove the roe gently pull the roe (orange part) away from the edge of the scallop, it should come away easily.
  4. Scallop shell alternative (for serving) if you don't have scallop shells for serving you can use ramekins which is the next best thing or a small baking tray although you'll need to spoon some butter over each scallop when serving if using a tray.