Heaven in an oven dish: Scallop and Camembert bread quiche



Scallop and Camembert bread quiche

Imagine it: thick cubes of bread steeped in a custard redolent with the luscious, heady scent of scallops, topped with wedges of Camembert and baked until it all oozes with succulence. It's an early call, but I am thinking this is a sure contender for Recipe of the Year!

The original recipe was in an ad for Megmilk Snow brand dairy products in the pre-Christmas December 17, 2011 issue of Orange Page. It is lovely and celebratory, but also ticks the thrifty boxes required for the Kechi (miserly) Cooking Month kick I am on after the Christmas-New year blowout. A few scallops will go a long way baked into a quiche like this : ).

I used scallops with the roe attached, although the recipe calls for the white muscle meat only.

In Japan, the local Camembert sold in supermarkets comes in 100 g wheels, which can be cut into nice little triangles to top the quiche with.

Scallop and Camembert bread quiche

Serves 4-5

200 g Camembert cheese (2 wheels of Japanese Camembert)
2 slices of thick-cut bread
12 scallops
7 eggs
190 ml milk
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 bunch (around 200 g) spinach
4 tbsp white wine

1 Heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Cut each wheel of cheese into 12 triangles. Quarter the scallops. Cut the bread into 9 cubes per slice. Wash the spinach, drain and cut into 4 cm lengths.

2 Line the bottom of a large oven-proof dish with the bread cubes. Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk with a fork. Add the milk and Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Mix again and pour enough of the mixture over the bread to cover it. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the bread to absorb the egg mixture.

3  Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until soft. Add the spinach and scallops and stir to combine. Pour over the wine, stir and season with salt and black pepper. Spoon the mixture on top of the egg-soaked bread, then top with Camembert triangles placed randomly. Pour over the remaining egg mixture and bake for 35-45 min, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the quiche comes out clean.

(Adapted from a recipe in the December 17, 2011 issue of Orange Page)

Enjoy!

Oysters with lotus root and garlic chives

Oysters with lotus root and garlic chives

Oysters are a common winter treat in Japan. They are enjoyed both raw (of course!) and cooked, and most supermarkets (in my part of Japan, at least)  have a stock of both kinds--ready shucked--during the season, which runs until around April.

I've been meaning to incorporate oysters into my winter menu for a few years, and have been collecting recipes for a while. This recipe, from Korean-Japanese food writer Koh Kentetsu, is a real find. Far from overwhelming the plump brininess of the oysters, the assertive ginger-garlic-garlic chive sauce and lotus root crunch really complement and enhance the tender mollusks.

This recipe appeared in the Orange Page column Koh Kentetsu's yasai de otsumami (vegetable dishes to enjoy with drinks). Koh recommends Shaoxing wine, beer or shochu with this dish. I say it is too good to save just for drinking parties. Why not have it for dinner tonight, while oysters are still to be had!

Renkon-iri kaki-nira itame: Oysters with lotus root and garlic chives

Serves 4

1 lotus root bulb (around 240 g)
1/2 bunch garlic chives (around 50 g)
16 shucked oysters

2 tsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tsp cooking sake

For the sauce
4 tbsp (60 ml) cooking sake
4 tsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Japanese rice vinegar
1 tsp katakuriko potato starch

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
piece of ginger the size of 2 thumbs, chopped finely
2 tsp tobanjan (doubanjiang) or other chilli paste, or to taste (optional)
dribble of toasted sesame oil

1 Place shucked oysters in a sieve in a bowl. Wash gently to remove any grit in water to which you have added a little salt. Drain, pat dry with kitchen paper and place in a bowl with the Japanese soy sauce and cooking sake. Mix gently to coat and set aside. Wash lotus root well and peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut in half length-ways and cut each half cross-ways into slices 5 mm thick. Wash the garlic chives and cut into lengths 4-5 cm long. In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients.

2 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add the oysters and stir-fry quickly until plump. Remove and set aside. In the same frying pan or wok, heat the remaining 1 tbsp vegetable over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger and tobanjan, if using, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the lotus root and continue stir-frying until it becomes slightly transparent.

3 Return the oysters to the pan. Stir the sauce ingredients and pour into the pan in a circular motion. Mix and continue stir-frying until the sauce thickens. Dribble toasted sesame oil around the edge of the pan, stir once and place on a serving dish.

Recipe source: Orange Page

Meshiagare!