Serve it in a Scallop Shell

No time for anything fancy on the feast of St. James? Still want to make it fun? A really simple idea is to just serve anything in a scallop shell. Since I had purchased the large shells for the Coquilles St.-Jacques dish, I realized how fun it would be to use for any serving on St. James day. The shells are available at many craft stores and kitchen stores, as well as online outlets like Amazon.

Try serving up a condiment or spice like sea salt pictured here.

The scallop makes a nice sized side dish for serving up salad or fresh fruit. 

A fun dish for snack time, apple slices, orange wedges, carrot stick, etc. Pictured here are goldfish crackers since St. James was both a fisherman and a "fisher of men." 

How about cookies?

It is a great little dish for a dessert, like ice cream for a warm July evening.

The possibilities are numerous.  Enjoy!

Why a scallop shell?

The scallop shell is a common symbol of St. James and is associated with travelers/pilgrims especially on the Camino de Santiago. Earliest connection of the scallop shell to the Camino and saint James is dated in the 10th century. The shell is commonly found on the shores of Galicia and served as a proof of completion of the pilgrimage. In a practical sense, the shell was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl.

There is a legend with a couple versions linking St. James to the shell.  One says that after St. James' death, his disciples took his body by ship to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried. Off the coast a storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.  Another version states, that as the ship carrying St. James' body approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore. The young bridegroom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and the horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.

There are two metaphors I have seen for the shells. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, could represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination at the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell could also represent the pilgrim. As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guides the pilgrims to Santiago.

Whatever the meaning – the various symbolism and stories associated with the scallop and St. James, make it a great visual for the feast day.

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Coquille St. Jacques - Scallops for St. James

Coquille is the French term for the scallop, and also refers to a classic French dish with scallops prepared in sauce and served in a scallop shell.  The scallop shell is the traditional emblem of St. James, son of Zebedee and has long been the badge of pilgrims on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  There is a traditional Coquille St.-Jacques which is made with mushrooms and wine sauce. This is a different baked scallop recipe, which includes sun-dried tomatoes which are red as a symbol of a martyrdom on this feast day. Served in a scallop shell they are a fitting meal for the feast of St. James.

Parmesan & Sun Dried Tomato Scallops 

24 small bay scallops
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped/minced
2 T. bread crumbs
1 clove garlic
couple sprigs of parsley
olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 T. parmesan cheese

Chop the parsley and garlic and add to breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomato pieces, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well. Add the scallops and mix to coat. Fill each shell with the mixture of breaded scallops (approx. 5). Place on baking sheet in 425 degree oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until scallops are done and breading crisps.  Serve in shells.

St. James, pray for us.

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Shell Cakes for St. James

Today we celebrate the feast of St. James the Greater, which happens to be a "nameday" in our home!  In the past I have always made Tarta de Santiago or Coupe Saint-Jacques, but this year I decided to try out my new cookbook and madeleine pan and make madeleines Shell shaped cakes. (Cockle and Scallop Shells are symbols of St. James.)

They turned out great and I'm looking forward to trying some of the other recipes soon.  In fact our son's baptismal anniversary is coming up next week, which might be the perfect opportunity to try out the "Vegan Coconut Milk-Cinnamon" though he is really intrigued by the "Bacon and Chocolate!"  We might have to make both... This should be fun!

Basic Madeleine

adapted from We Love Madeleines

Ingredients:

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour, Plus Extra for Dusting the Pan
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt
• 3 Eggs, At Room Temperature
• 1 Egg Yolk, At Room Temperature
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted and Cooled to Room Temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
• Powdered Sugar for Dusting

Directions:

In a small bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until the batter is thick enough to ribbon and lighter in color.  Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture.  Carefully fold in the flour mixture using a rubber spatula, until just combined.

In a small bowl, whisk one-third of the batter into the melted butter, then fold the butter mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.  Let the batter rest for at least 1 hour.

Preheat over to 350˚F with the rack positioned in the center.  Grease a madeleine pan with melted butter and dust with flour, tapping out any excess.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each mold three-quarters full.  Bake until the madeleines are golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.

When the madeleines come out of the oven, immediately turn them out onto wire racks and let cool.  Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Happy Feast of St. James! 

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