Ingredients

25g butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup cream
1½ cups white wine small pinch cayenne pepper
½ cup Gruyere cheese, grated
80g scallops, patted dry
100g skinless white fish fillets, such as terakihi, ling, snapper, hoki
80g cooked prawns, halved
80g cooked mussel meat, roughly chopped*
PARSLEY CRUMB
4 x 2cm slices ciabatta, crusts removed, roughly chopped
25g butter, melted
1 clove garlic, crushed
¾ cup curly leaf parsley finely grated zest of a lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt

I love this updated version of my mother and grandmother’s dish, topped with the gorgeous green, crunchy parsley crumb.

Instructions

1.Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a gentle heat.
2.Add the shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 8 minutes until the shallot is softened but not coloured.
3.Add the flour and stir together with a wooden spoon to form a paste. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring, then add the milk.
4.Keep stirring over the heat until thick and smooth, then add the cream, ½ cup of the wine and the cayenne pepper, and whisk over the heat until the sauce is evenly thick and smooth.
5.Add the Gruyere and give a final whisk to incorporate, then set aside.
6.In a separate pan heat the remaining wine with ⅓ cup of water, until simmering. Add the scallops and fish and cover.
7.Cook for 2 minutes, remove the scallops (they should be plump and cooked through) and cook the fish a further 1-2 minutes until fully opaque (if necessary, turn it gently during cooking).
8.Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and whisk into the prepared cheese sauce, to thin slightly.
9.Preheat the grill to 200˚C.
10.Gently fold the prawn and mussel meat through the cheese sauce.
11.Add the fish and scallops and carefully divide the mixture between 8 x ⅓-½ cup-capacity ovenproof serving dishes.
12.Top the fish mixture with the parsley crumb and grill (well away from the heat source) for 2-3 minutes until the topping is crunchy and greeny golden.
13.Serve immediately sprinkled with a little sea salt.
14.PARSLEY CRUMB
15.Put the ciabatta, melted butter, garlic, parsley, lemon zest and sea salt in a food processor and whiz to form large chunky crumbs.
16.The crumb mix can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and stored in a sealed container in the fridge.
17.*Either steamed or marinated mussels can be used in this dish.
18.If using marinated mussels drain and rinse briefly – the finished dish will have a little more of a sharp hit.

Recipes & Food Styling Sarah Tuck / Photography & Styling Greta van de Star / Playlist Zac Arnold, Flying Out Records

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