Chef-driven season: grilled asparagus with brown butter
A restaurant and bakery on the right bank of the Vltava
Once a year, the chefs have a special reason to get creative - the asparagus harvest gives them a culinary opportunity to put the white and green stalks on the menu in both simple and sophisticated arrangements. In the kitchen at U Kalendů, they are used to prepare a delicate appetiser with aioli mayonnaise, brown butter and roasted hazelnuts. Go ahead!
For 4 servings:
- 1 l broth (meat or vegetable)
- 200 ml whole milk
- 50 g butter
- a few sprigs of thyme
- 2 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
- tablespoon sugar
- a pinch more salt
- 500 g white asparagus
For the dressing:
- 50 g brown butter
- salt and pepper
For the sauce:
- 200 g brown butter
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- zest of ½ lemon
- lemon juice to taste
- 40 g hazelnuts, dry roasted
For the mayonnaise aioli:
- 20 g 20 black garlic
- 2 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs)
- 300 to 400 ml of oil
- 20 ml wine vinegar
- a pinch of salt and pepper
To serve:
- 2 dried egg yolks
- 4 lemon marigolds
Procedure:
- Bring a litre of water to the boil with the stock, milk and butter, add the thyme and garlic, sugar and salt.
- Clean the asparagus of the skins, put it in the pot and boil for two to three minutes - depending on the size of the vegetables.
- Remove the cooked stalks and cool in a bowl with ice. This will keep the asparagus al dente.
- Pat the vegetables dry, brush with a dressing of melted brown butter, salt and pepper and grill or pan-fry on both sides.
- Now it's time for the sauce. Just combine the melted brown butter with salt, pepper, grated lemon zest and juice. Stir in the toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts.
- Whisk the aioli: blend the black garlic to a paste, add the egg yolks (or whole eggs) and gradually whisk in the oil. You know the drill! Finish the mayonnaise with salt, pepper and wine vinegar. Use both a blender and a stick blender to achieve the ideal creamy consistency.
- And it's on to the finale! Serve the grilled asparagus stalks drizzled with the brown butter sauce and topped with grated egg yolk, add a dollop of mayonnaise and a lemon wedge to the edge of the plate for acidity.
Notes:
You can swap the white asparagus for green! You don't need to use milk in the recipe, as this is to take away the bitter taste of the white stems.
When making aioli choose a flavour-neutral oil that will not clash with the black garlic. Chefs usually opt for a good quality sunflower oil.
Whip up more mayonnaise from the above amount of ingredients than you can eat with grilled asparagus. But it will keep in the fridge for a few more days - and it will help you to improve, for example, roasted vegetables, grilled fish and a baked sandwich, potato salad, a grilled burger or fried chicken. You can easily spice up the sauce by adding tarragon and chives, unusual mustard or spicy sriracha.
At dried egg yolks think ahead - they are pickled in salt and sugar (1:1) at least overnight. In the morning they are rinsed and put in the dehydrator to dry for two days. They can be kept in the fridge and in a sealed container for up to a month.
Asparagus on the menu:
White asparagus is different from green asparagus asparagus is different from asparagus not only because of its colour and the way it is grown (without light), but also because it has a milder taste. In addition, the skin tends to taste bitter, so it must be scraped off thoroughly. In contrast, green asparagus is only washed. In both cases, however, the woody ends are removed. By the way, have you come across purple asparagus in the kitchen?
Do not throw away the skins of white asparagus! Make a broth from them to use for soup or sauce. U Kalendů serve asparagus cream: sauté finely chopped shallots with garlic and a little white wine in butter, and after a while a batch of leftover asparagus trimmings. Cover with (meat or asparagus) stock and cook until soft. Finally, everything is blended, softened with cream and finished with herbs.
You can also incorporate the asparagus trimmings into an omelette or savoury pie. You can also save salt water after cooking (blanching) the asparagus - the vegetables will release flavours that it would be a shame not to use!
The asparagus gets its great texture and flavour from poaching, for example in water with lemon juice and zest, butter, honey and salt. Grilling is a safe bet, but also roasting in papillote - the asparagus stalks are peeled or simply cleaned and wrapped in baking paper with olive oil, sliced butter and sugar, lemon or lime juice and herbs.
Fans of less traditional flavours can venture into fermentation or look up a recipe for asparagus ice cream.
Asparagus is a great complement to with eggs, smoked fish and cured hams (try lardo!), with baby leeks, cucumber, strawberries, spinach and peas, but also with truffles, anchovies, mushrooms (morels), goat's cheese and aged Parmesan cheese. Steam it with sour cream, tahini, mustard and various sauces - both green and white asparagus deserve Dutch or sauce mornaygreen stalks are excellent with romesco sauce and white stalks stand out in bordelaise sauce.
A great friend of asparagus is butter, both classic and herbal. Spring vegetables are also flavoured with an interestingly sour koji butter or butter with miso paste - stir 50g miso into 100g of warmed fat.
Asparagus likes sourness! Reach for the citrus juice towards the end of the preparation, apple cider vinegar or vinaigrette. As for the herbs, bring basil, tarragon, chervil or dill into play and a handful of wild herbs. Seasoned breadcrumbs, puffed cereal or toasted poppy seeds will spruce up asparagus dishes.
The official end of the asparagus season falls on 24 June. In Germany it is said that 'Kirschen rot, Spargel tot' - as soon as the cherries turn red, the asparagus is over.
Enjoy the asparagus harvest at their best! The stems must not be gnarled or rubbery and will naturally break in two when bent. It is worth storing them for a maximum of two or three days, but as a general rule in the fridge and wrapped in a damp (not wet!) cloth.
