Garlic Butter Scallops
Proper French garlic butter scallops done the way they've been doing them in Brittany for centuries. No cream, no fancy additions, just sweet scallops with persillade, that addictive garlic, parsley, and butter mixture that the French put on everything.
Ingredients
- 12 scallops with shells and coral if you can get them
- 100 gr unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 40 gr flat-leaf parsley a large handful
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
- 12 scallop shells if you couldn't find the scallops with shells
Instructions
1. Make the persillade butter
- In a small bowl, mash together the softened butter, garlic, and most of the parsley (save a bit for garnish). Season with salt.This is proper persillade, the French cure-all. It should be nice and garlicky.
2. Prepare the scallops and preheat your grill
- Preheat your oven's grill function to maximum, you want it properly hot, around 230-250°C.If your scallops still have the coral (the orange crescent bit), brilliant, keep it attached. If there's a tough white muscle on the side, pull it off. Rinse the scallops briefly under cold water and pat completely dry with kitchen paper. Wet scallops won't caramelize, they'll steam, and that's not what we're after.If your scallops came in their shells, they’re ready to go. If you bought the shells separately, nestle each scallop into one before grilling.
3. Arrange the scallops
- Place the scallops in their shells on a baking tray. Because the shells are curved and can wobble, set them on a bed of scrunched baking parchment (or foil) so they sit level and the cooking juices stay put
4. Add the persillade butter
- If you've chilled your butter, cut it into 3mm slices and place one generous slice on top of each scallop. If using soft butter, just dollop a good spoonful on each one, don't be shy, you want about a tablespoon per scallop.
5. Grill
- Slide the tray into the top of your oven under the hot grill. Cook for 7-8 minutes until the butter is bubbling and the top is golden and starting to caramelize. The scallops should be just opaque, if they're completely white and firm, they're overdone.Watch them carefully in the last couple of minutes. The difference between golden and burnt is about 30 seconds when you're under a grill this hot.
6. Serve immediately
- Serve straight away with crusty bread for mopping up the garlicky butter.These need to go to the table still bubbling. Once they cool down, the magic wears off.
Notes
- Try to get the scallops with the coral attached if you can, it adds sweetness and looks more impressive. Avoid anything labelled "soaked" or "water-added," which basically means they've been pumped full of water to increase weight.
- Proper scallops should smell like the sea, not fishy.
- If you can't find scallop shells (or can't be bothered), individual gratin dishes or even a large shallow baking dish works fine too. You lose the drama, but the taste is identical.
- You can make the persillade butter up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Just bring it to room temperature for 15 minutes before using, or slice it straight from the fridge if you've rolled it into a log.