Compound Butter — Beurre Composé: Café de Paris, Maître d'Hôtel, Montpellier

Ingredients

• Beurre Maître d'Hôtel
• 250 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, not melted
• 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 pinch white pepper, to season
• Beurre de Montpellier
• 250 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, not melted
• 100 g mixed herbs and greens, flat-leaf parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives, watercress, and spinach combined
• 4 cornichons
• 2 tbsp capers
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 100 ml olive oil, added in a thin stream
• 1 pinch salt, white pepper, and lemon juice, to season
• Beurre Café de Paris
• 250 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, not melted
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp capers, finely chopped
• 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp tarragon, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Madeira
• 1 tbsp cognac
• 1 pinch dried thyme and marjoram
• 1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Method

1. 1
   BEURRE MAÎTRE D'HÔTEL — Beat the softened butter in a bowl until smooth and uniform. Add the finely chopped parsley, lemon juice, fine salt, and white pepper. Beat again until all flavouring agents are evenly distributed through the butter. The mixture is ready when no streaks remain and the herb is suspended throughout without clumping.
2. 2
   Turn the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a log of 4 cm diameter. Roll tightly, twist the ends to seal, and refrigerate until fully firm. This is where the dish lives or dies: the butter must be softened — not melted — at the point of beating, so the flavouring agents are held in suspension rather than sinking; once chilled, it must be firm enough to yield clean, intact 1 cm rounds under a sharp knife.
3. 3
   Slice 1 cm rounds as needed. Place each round on grilled steak or fish at the moment of service, at the table. The round is ready when it begins to pool into a sauce of parsley and lemon against the hot surface — not before, and not after it has fully melted in the kitchen.
4. 4
   BEURRE DE MONTPELLIER — Blanch the combined 100 g of parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives, watercress, and spinach in rapidly boiling water for 10 seconds, then transfer immediately to an ice bath. Squeeze the greens firmly and thoroughly dry. The mass is ready when no water runs from it when pressed.
5. 5
   Blend the squeezed greens with the cornichons, capers, anchovy fillets, garlic, and hard-boiled egg yolks to a smooth, homogenous paste. Beat this paste into the softened butter, then add the olive oil in a thin stream as when making mayonnaise, beating continuously. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon. The butter is ready when it is vivid, uniform green throughout and the oil has been fully absorbed without separation.
6. 6
   Roll, chill, and slice as for the Maître d'Hôtel. Serve with cold poached salmon or as a spread for croûtons accompanying soups.
7. 7
   BEURRE CAFÉ DE PARIS — Ensure all aromatics — curry powder, paprika, Dijon mustard, capers, anchovy, chives, parsley, tarragon, shallot, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Madeira, cognac, thyme, marjoram, and lemon zest — are very finely chopped or in paste form before they meet the butter. Beat all components into the softened butter in a single bowl until a fully integrated, complex-scented mass forms. The butter is ready when the nose detects the full layered aroma of spice, herb, and spirit simultaneously, with no single note dominant.
8. 8
   Roll, chill, and slice as for the Maître d'Hôtel. Serve on grilled entrecôte at the moment of service.