Grilled scallops in the shell with Café de Paris butter recipe

Scallops are in my high three favorite components ever; I really like to arrange them as a lot as I like to prepare dinner with them. Should you can afford to, I actually suggest shopping for hand-dived scallops, that are sourced sustainably and gathered in a method that respects the ocean ground. To avoid wasting you some prep, ask your fishmonger to take away the scallops from their shells, take off the skirt that sits across the chicken, and retain the roe. 

This dish is sort of fast and straightforward to make, and the butter freezes very well (retailer leftovers within the fridge for 3 days, or the freezer for six months). Get pleasure from with a crisp, chilly Pilsner or white wine and also you’re successful!

Timings

Prep time: quarter-hour, plus chilling time

Prepare dinner time: 10 minutes

Serves

4

Components

For the butter

• 1 shallot, finely diced
• juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
• 50ml brandy
• 250g salted butter, softened
• 35g capers
• 100g roasted crimson 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

For the scallops

• 12 scallops of their shells (together with the roe)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• grated zest of 1 lime

To serve

Methodology

1. First, make the Café de Paris butter. Add the shallot, lemon juice and brandy to a small saucepan.
2. Over a medium warmth, scale back the lemon juice and brandy till the liquid has evaporated.
3. Place the softened butter in a bowl and add the shallot combination and lemon zest together with the remaining components. Combine properly and roll into logs inside a bit of baking parchment. I normally get about 3 logs from this combination.
4. Place the logs within the fridge to sit back till agency. Preheat the grill to sizzling, or the oven to 220C/200C fan/fuel mark 7.
5. Season the scallops flippantly throughout. Drizzle every scallop with olive oil then place a 20g disc of Café de Paris butter on high. Switch the shells to an oven tray and place below the grill or within the oven.
6. Prepare dinner the scallops for 4-5 minutes. They’re superbly cooked once they attain an inner temperature of 45-47C – a cheap digital meat probe will provide you with constant outcomes each time.
7. Organize the cooked scallops on a platter and scatter with lemon and lime zest. Minimize the lemon and lime into wedges to serve alongside.

Recipe from For the Love of Meals by Paul Ainsworth (Pavilion Books, £26)