Roasted scallops with café de Paris butter

Want to know every chef’s secret to fast flavour? Compound butter. These flavour bombs freeze beautifully and are ready to melt over seafood, steaks, chicken or vegetables at a moment’s notice. This café de Paris butter fromchef Jason Barratt is packed with herbs and flavour compounds – make it once, freeze the leftovers and you’ll thank yourself later.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• Rock salt
• 12 large half-shell scallops
• 2 lemons, rocket leaves, to serve

For the café de Paris butter

• 250 g cultured butter, softened
• 50 g finely chopped chives
• 30 g finely chopped tarragon
• 50 g finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 15 g Dijon mustard
• 25 ml vermouth
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 50 g capers, chopped
• 3 anchovies, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, finely zested
• 3 g smoked paprika
• 3 g curry powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 260˚C (240˚C fan-forced).
2. To make the café de Paris butter, combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well with a spatula.
3. Fill a large baking tray with rock salt, then arrange the scallops in-shell on top so they lay flat while baking. Spoon a little butter over each scallop (any leftover butter can be rolled into a log on baking paper and frozen for future use).
4. Bake for 2 minutes, or until the scallops are just cooked and golden and the butter is bubbling.
5. Cut the lemons into wedges. Spread the rocket leaves onto a large serving platter and sit the roasted scallops on top with the lemon wedges on the side and serve immediately.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.