Vieiras al Horno

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Scallop knife or short blunt table knife
• •Cut-resistant glove or thick folded kitchen towel
• •Stiff shellfish brush
• •Wide 28cm frying pan
• •Two large rimmed baking trays
• •Kitchen scale accurate to 1g
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven

   Heat the oven to 220°C conventional, 200°C fan, or 425°F, with a rack in the upper third. Crumple two sheets of foil over a rimmed baking tray to make twelve shallow nests. The shells must sit level or their good juices end up on the tray.

2. 2

   Clean the scallops

   Keep the scallops cold while you work. Discard any with a broken shell or any live scallop that does not close when tapped. Hold each one with the flat shell uppermost, slide a scallop knife along its underside, and cut through the muscle attaching it to that shell. Lift off the flat shell, loosen the meat from the deep shell, and remove the frill, dark stomach, and feathery gills. Keep the round white muscle and sound orange coral. Rinse them very briefly under cold water, pat completely dry, scrub the deep shells, and return one muscle and its coral to each shell.

   A fishmonger can shuck and clean them for you. Ask for the deep shells and the coral back. This costs the dish nothing and saves a nervous beginner from wrestling with a knife.
3. 3

   Cook the onion slowly

   Put 50ml olive oil, the onions, and 2g salt into a wide frying pan. Cook over medium-low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the onion is dark gold, collapsed, and almost jammy. Add the garlic for the final 2 minutes. Keep the heat patient. Pale wet onion gives a thin filling, while this slow cook brings the sweetness the scallop needs.

   If the onion starts browning at the edges before it softens, lower the heat and cover the pan for five minutes. Uncover it again so the last moisture can cook away.
4. 4

   Finish the sofrito

   Add the diced jamón and cook for 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the sweet pimentón for 10 seconds, then add the crushed tomato before the spice can scorch. Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tomato is dark and thick. Pour in the Albariño and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. The sofrito is ready when a spoon drawn through it leaves a trail that stays open. Let it cool for 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Fill the shells

   Set the filled shells level in their foil nests. Divide the sofrito among them, about 35g per shell, spreading it over the muscle and coral without packing it down. Mix the breadcrumbs with the parsley and remaining 10ml olive oil. Sprinkle exactly 4g over each shell in a thin, even coat. More bread is not generosity here; it insulates the scallop and turns supper into stuffing.

6. 6

   Bake until golden

   Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, checking at 8. The crumbs should be golden, the sauce should glisten at the edges, and the scallop should be milky and just firm, reaching 63°C or 145°F at its thickest point. If the scallop is ready but the crumbs are pale, place the tray under a fully heated grill for 20 to 30 seconds and watch without looking away.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Rest the shells on the tray for 2 minutes, then transfer three to each plate with a folded napkin or shell holder beneath them so they stay level. Serve at once, with plain bread for the onion-rich juices. The shell remains very hot after the scallop is ready, so warn the table before someone learns it with a fingertip.

Chef Tips

• •Buy whole scallops only from an approved fishmonger. Shellfish toxins are a sourcing problem, not something the oven fixes. The shells should smell clean and briny, never strongly fishy, and the scallops should stay cold until baking.
• •If whole Galician-style scallops aren't available, use 12 large dry-packed sea scallops, about 35 to 40g each, on cleaned reusable shells. Avoid wet-packed scallops treated with phosphate; they release water, refuse to brown, and dilute the sofrito.
• •No shells at all? Divide the scallops and filling among four shallow 120ml ramekins. The cooking remains sound, but you lose the coral, shell liquor, and the way each vieira arrives at the table in its own vessel.
• •Use Albariño from the Rías Baixas if you can. Godello is the closest Spanish substitute here. A dry, unoaked white wine will cook properly, but it brings less of Albariño's fresh, saline edge. Serve the same wine well chilled alongside.
• •The breadcrumb layer must be thin. There is no cheese and no cream in this Galician preparation. Add either and you've buried the scallop under another dish.
• •Jamón varies greatly in salt, which is why the recipe adds only 2g to the onion. Taste the finished sofrito before it reaches the shells, but remember that the scallop brings its own salinity.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the sofrito up to two days ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate. Take it out 30 minutes before assembling so a refrigerator-cold filling does not delay the scallops in the oven.
• •The shells can be scrubbed, dried, and refrigerated one day ahead. Keep cleaned scallop meat covered on a tray set over ice in the refrigerator and use it within four hours.
• •Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, and oil earlier on the day of serving, but keep them separate from the scallops. Assemble only when the oven is hot or the crumbs soften and the raw shellfish warms unnecessarily.
• •These are best eaten as soon as they are baked. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours and eat within one day, knowing that reheated scallops will be firmer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)