Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Gratinated scallops a la Parmesana (Conchitas a la parmesana)


I adore seafood and right now I'm living in the perfect country for seafood lovers.
Cause of the cold Humboldt current that  flows along the Peruvian coastline, fish and seafood is of excellent quality. The current is supporting an extraordinary abundance of marine life and is rich in biodiversity.
There are many restaurants specialized in "Pescados y mariscos " from the most humble and basic to the most sophisticated with internationally renowned Chefs who create wonderful new Fusion dishes.
It is always inspiring to visit this places and try to recreate some of the dishes that we enjoyed and give them a new twist or a different presentation.
Today I felt like preparing one of the classics of Peruvian cuisine "conchitas a la parmesana" or
" Parmesan gratinated scallops "
It's  delicious, very uncomplicated and  once finished it looks like you would have spent hours in the kitchen. Compliments for the chef are granted :)
This recipe is great as an entrance or appetizer, and the only difficulty is that it tends to disappear so fast that you better prepare always more than originally planned.

This is what you need:
 12 large scallops on the half shell
1 1/2 cup freshly grated, mild Parmesan cheese
3 tsp. butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime and some fresh Parsley for decoration
*Optional: 1 Spoonful Peruvian Pisco ( can be replaced with Grappa or Whisky)


Method:
With the help of a spoon remove the scallops from the half shell. Remove the red side muscle ( it has a lot of cholesterol!) and the black vein.
Clean the scallops carefully under rinsing water
Place them again on the half shell



 or on an oven proofed porcelain spoon.



Season very slightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 


Put a small piece of butter on each scallop.



Cover each scallop with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.



If desired sprinkle with some drops of Pisco.

 
Bake under the broiler for about 4 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.


Serve with fresh limes and some parsley.


Serve immediately.



 
Serves 12 portions.
Enjoy!
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51 comments:

  1. I can't imagine how wonderful these flavors must be. So lucky to have fresh seafood and in abundance! I love the shells - they look so elegant. Bravo :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Tricia for this sweet comment.
      Glad you liked the recipe and the shells.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  2. Love seafood and scallops top my list too. Very easy but great looking recipe. Glad you showed a shell-less alternative.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Evelyn,
      welcome to the club of seafood lovers :)
      I thought that in some places it might be difficult to get the shells, so there are other options too.

      Delete
  3. omg, this looks so amazing. I'm a huge fan on seafood and this presentation is STELLAR!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angela,
      happy to hear you enjoyed the presentation.
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  4. What a gorgeous recipe! And how lucky you are to live in countries with such terrific cuisines.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Beth,
      yes we are lucky indeed to get this wonderful seafood.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. This looks like such a wonderful recipe! Scallops are one of my wife's favorite foods, and I know she'd love this. Me too! Thanks for this - definitely something I'll be making at some point in the future.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much John, I'm happy to hear that you and Mrs.KR are scallop fans and enjoyed the recipe.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  6. These scallops look so amazing with all that delicious cheese! Mmmm!! Yummy!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sammie ,
      Glad to hear you liked the post.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Hi Daniela, I'm also a seafood lover. Your this scallop dish is to die for, very inviting and scrumptious. I sure to lick the spoon clean... hahaha
    Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe.

    Have a lovely week ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amelia ,
      thank you for this lovely feedback, so sweet and it made me smile :)
      Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

      Delete
  8. Love seafood, too, especially scallops. Never have seen scallops in shells before - how interesting! You recipe is wonderful and exquisite, as usual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Julia for this great feedback, so glad you liked the post.
      Sometimes you can find these shells at kitchenware shops.
      I brought mine to the different countries we were living in, because they always look nice when serving seafood.

      Delete
  9. This looks so good! I love seafood but I don't make it nearly enough because my husband doesn't eat it. I need to try this!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ashley,
      even your husband doesn't like seafood you can easily prepare this dish for yourself, it's so fast and uncomplicated. Hope you will enjoy it :)

      Delete
  10. These scallops look so good Daniela...I like the richness of this dish and yes, melted Parmesan...yum!
    Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a great week my dear :D

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    Replies
    1. Hi Juliana,
      Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the post.
      Have a great weekend!

      Delete
  11. These scallops must be really tasty and flavoursome prepared with hard cheese.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they really were and disappeared very fast from the table :)

      Delete
  12. How perfectly lovely. I must give your recipe a try. I hope your week is off to a great start. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Mary!
      Hope you have a great week too and thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  13. You are indeed lucky to live in a place where food seafood is abundant! have never seen a scallop sold on it's shell like that. I know they sell the the shells for preparations like this, though, and the preparation sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so right Susan, I feel really lucky to live in an ideal place for seafood lovers.
      The little shells are very useful indeed and I always brouhgt them with me when posted abroad.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  14. Love seafood!! But can't seem to love the idea of loading it up with cheese. Love it though :)

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    Replies
    1. It's funny, I thought exactly the same when I saw this recipe first: OMG, it's sooo cheesy. But then I tried it and it tasted wonderful because the cheese seals in the juices of the scallops and harmonizes very well with the seafood.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  15. oh my gosh these look wonderful!! All that melted Parmesan makes me so happy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jenn, great to hear you liked this recipe.
      Have a great week ahead!

      Delete
  16. Yes, I'm a big seafood lover growing up near the ocean and it's great to hear Peru gets lots of seafood too! I'm going to try this one for sure. LOVE scallops and this easy cheesy dish is perfect for our family. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nami,
      So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
      Do your kids like seafood too?

      Delete
  17. Oh I would just love these! The flavors sound delicious together.

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  18. Drooling! They look amazing.

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  19. I too love seafood but don't have the great selection you do. Your recipe looks delicious, Daniela. Thank you for sharing and hope your week has started off great.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seafood is one of my favorites and as I see we share this oppinion :)
      Thanks for stopping by, Nancy!

      Delete
  20. Simple to prepare but they have to be wonderful.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Karen, they taste really nice because it seems I can never prepare enough of them :)

      Delete
  21. Oh,these make for such an elegant starter and we bet they will be a hit at all parties,so beautiful in those shells with melty cheese on top...very scrumptious...
    HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi my dejar friends,
      Thank you for your great feedback I truly appreciate it! Cheers.

      Delete
  22. I love scallops. And these look superb Daniela! Delectable!

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  23. These are so pretty. What a great entree or wonderful appetiser. I love how these have Pisco in them. I used to have a bottle and it's all gone - I must buy another bottle xx

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    Replies
    1. Hi Charlie,
      happy to hear you liked the recipe .
      It's a pity your Pisco is gone I use it not only for Pisco sour but find it also great for cooking and desserts .
      Cheers!

      Delete
  24. Muero por las conchitas a la parmesana y son tan fáciles de preparar, aunque la verdad es mi esposo el que las hace :)

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    Replies
    1. Si de verdad son deliciosos y que suerte que su esposo los prepara.
      Que tenga un buen commienzo de la semana!

      Delete
  25. The most beautiful appetizer I've ever seen, Daniela. Will be pinning this to my Appetizer Board and I have already Liked you on Facebook.

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  26. Thank you so much Kathleen, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the post.
    And thanks for liking my page on FB, I really appreciate it!

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  27. Those scallops must taste mighty good! A fabulous combination.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete

 
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