Scallops in the Shell with Café De Paris Butter
Scallops are in my top three favourite ingredients ever; I love to prepare them as much as I love to cook with them. If you can afford to, I really recommend buying hand-dived scallops, which are sourced sustainably and gathered in a way that respects the ocean floor. To save you some prep, ask your fishmonger to remove the scallops from their shells, take off the skirt that sits around the white meats, and keep the roes. This dish is quite quick and easy to do, and the butter freezes really well.
Ingredients
SERVES 4
12 scallops (ideally hand-dived)
2 tbsp olive oil
12 x 20g slices of Café de Paris butter (see below)
1 lemon
1 lime
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
FOR THE CAFE DE PARIS BUTTER
1 shallot, finely diced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
50ml brandy
250g salted butter, softened
35g capers
100g roasted red peppers, tinned or from a jar, finely diced
10g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
½ tsp English mustard powder
1 tsp curry powder
1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Method
1. First, make the Café de Paris butter. In a small saucepan, add the shallot, lemon juice and brandy. Over a medium heat, reduce the lemon juice and brandy until the liquid has evaporated. Place the softened butter in a bowl and add the shallot mixture, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and roll into logs with parchment paper. I usually get about 3 logs from this mixture. Place the Café de Paris butter logs into the fridge and chill.
2. Preheat the grill to hot (200°C).
3. Place the white scallop meat and roe back into the scallop shells and season lightly all over with sea salt and a twist of black pepper. Drizzle each scallop with olive oil. Place a disc of Café de Paris butter over each scallop, then transfer the shells to an oven tray and place under the grill or in the oven.
4. Cook the scallops for about 4-5 minutes. Ideally, an inexpensive digital meat probe will give you consistent results every time – the scallops are beautifully cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 45-47°C.
5. Arrange the grilled scallops on a big platter and finish with lemon and lime zest all over the top, then cut the lemon and lime into wedges to serve alongside. Enjoy with a crisp, cold Pilsner or white wine and you’re winning!
For the Love of Food by Paul Ainsworth (Pavilion Books). Image credit Issy Croker.
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Method
1. First, make the Café de Paris butter. In a small saucepan, add the shallot, lemon juice and brandy. Over a medium heat, reduce the lemon juice and brandy until the liquid has evaporated. Place the softened butter in a bowl and add the shallot mixture, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and roll into logs with parchment paper. I usually get about 3 logs from this mixture. Place the Café de Paris butter logs into the fridge and chill.
2. Preheat the grill to hot (200°C).
3. Place the white scallop meat and roe back into the scallop shells and season lightly all over with sea salt and a twist of black pepper. Drizzle each scallop with olive oil. Place a disc of Café de Paris butter over each scallop, then transfer the shells to an oven tray and place under the grill or in the oven.
4. Cook the scallops for about 4-5 minutes. Ideally, an inexpensive digital meat probe will give you consistent results every time – the scallops are beautifully cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 45-47°C.
5. Arrange the grilled scallops on a big platter and finish with lemon and lime zest all over the top, then cut the lemon and lime into wedges to serve alongside. Enjoy with a crisp, cold Pilsner or white wine and you’re winning!
For the Love of Food by Paul Ainsworth (Pavilion Books). Image credit Issy Croker.
