Recipe: Golden Gratineed Shellfish

GOLDEN GRATINEED SHELLFISH

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
5 cups fresh white bread crumbs (7 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
3 dozen medium mussels (1 1/2 pounds), scrubbed and debearded
3 dozen medium littleneck clams, shucked, on the half shell, empty shells reserved
3 dozen medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and shallot and cook over low heat until softened, 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Stir in the mustard. Add the bread crumbs and thyme, season with salt and pepper and toss well.

In a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil with the bay leaves. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat until they open, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; strain the cooking liquid into a cup and add a pinch of salt. Set the mussels on the half shell on a baking sheet; discard the empty mussel shells.

Set the clams on the half shell on a baking sheet. Put a shrimp in each of the empty clam shells and arrange on a baking sheet. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon of the mussel liquid over each mussel, clam and shrimp to moisten them. Mound 2 teaspoons of the bread crumbs on the seafood in each shell.

Position 2 sheets of shellfish on a rack in the upper third of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until browned. Repeat with the third sheet. Serve.

VARIATION:
Spread the steamed mussels and raw clams and shrimp in a large gratin dish. Sprinkle with the seasoned bread crumbs and bake at 500 degrees F until browned. Toss with cooked linguine, olive oil and some of the mussel liquid.

Mkaes 8 first-course servings
adapted from source: Marcia Kiesel