Bloody Mary & Grilled Scallops with Café de Paris Butter

For this chapter of Sips and Nibbles with Julius Roberts, we’re pairing cocktail spice with seaside indulgence. The iconic Bloody Mary, mixed with Sapling Vodka and seasoned to perfection, finds its match in scallops with Café de Paris butter - a dish inspired by hand-dived Dorset scallops cooked directly in the embers of a fire. It’s a pairing that brings together smoke, spice, and sea in every sip and bite.

Bloody Mary

50ml Sapling Vodka
Tomato Juice
Tabasco
Worcestershire Sauce 
Celery Stick
Lemon Slice
Ice 

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in 50ml Sapling Vodka. Add a dash (or more, to taste) of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Top with tomato juice and gently stir to combine. Garnish with a celery stick and a slice of lemon. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed (more spice, salt, or even a pinch of black pepper).

Scallops with Café de Paris Butter

15 fresh scallops with their shells, roe intact but prepped and removed from their shells

A loaf of bread to serve

For the butter:

2 Salted anchovy fillets
1 Garlic clove, grated
250g Butter, softened
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
10g Salted capers
1 Shallot, very finely chopped
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tarragon sprigs, leaves picked from the stalks
1 tsp Ground black pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
A generous pinch or two of curry powder

Where I live down in Dorset, the sea is littered with scallops, in some places, so thick you almost can’t see the sand beneath them. I’m lucky enough to have a friend who hand-dives them for a living and so often get scallops in their shells straight off the boat. My favourite thing to do is eat them on the beach, using their shells as little frying pans, placed directly in the embers of a fire with a dollop of flavoured butter. Café de Paris butter is a spiced butter from France that goes incredibly well with scallops, saffron butter is also great, as is nduja butter. Note, if you can't find scallop shells, or you’re not near a beach and comfortable cooking with fire – you can also fry them in a pan and finish each one with a few tablespoons of the melted butter. 

In a food processor add all the ingredients for the butter and blitz together. Have a taste, and season as needed. Adding more curry powder, salt or lemon until you have the right balance. Either roll in some clingfilm, or spoon into a dish or Tupperware.  Head to the beach, with your scallops and light a fire. 

Place 1 scallop in each shell and top with a generous spoon of butter. Carefully place the shells in the embers of your fire. Not a roaring fire. Make sure they’re flat so the butter doesn’t spill. They will bubble and spit as the butter melts, cook for around a minute a side. They are much better undercooked, than over. They want to be a little under in the middle like a steak.

Serve in their shells, with thick cut bread for dunking in the butter.