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vegetable - asparagus, parsley vinaigrette, salad

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Warm Asparagus Spears in Parsley Vinaigrette

A very light, perfect starter or double the amounts for a lunch!

serves 4

allow 3 large cooked spears (white or green) per person

for 1/8 litre of Classic Vinaigrette:

2 T. wine or herbal vinegar

salt, fresh ground white pepper

1 t. Dijon

6 T. oil

variation addition: 1 finely minced shallot

8 T. chopped parsley

2 hard cooked egg yolks

This dish may be served warm or cold. Allow 3 tablespoons of parsley per person. Puree the parsley with the oil before continuing, add a little more oil if necessary. Whisk all together. Adjust the seasoning.

You may also slightly soften the minced shallot by wet sautéing then adding in the rest of the ingredients for a warm vinaigrette to be served over warm spears. Depending on how strong the vinegar is, you may have to add a little water. Either marinate the spears for a few hours to overnight or serve immediately. Arrange 3 spears on a bed of butter lettuce (boston lettuce) and spoon the sauce over the middle.

Most attractive is to have one of the spears either green or white as a contrast. Press a little egg yolk through a sieve and dot on the middle.

Note: Asparagus should be steamed and never, ever boiled. For two persons, it is easy to lay the spears flat in a pan with just enough water with a little lemon juice to cover the bottom. Give the pan a shake now and again to 'roll' the spears for even steaming. 'Wet steam' them like this for several minutes. By the time the spears are done, the liquid may have just evaporated. They are done when a knife inserted in the stem meets no resistance (asparagus must NEVER be served 'al dente'. If serving warm, be certain to warm the plate first.

All recipes are excerpts from "Welcome to My Kitchen" - The Epicurean Table and are copyright of the author. Recipes are not to be added to any form of archive or other works of any kind. Contact the author for further information.