Recipes

What you do
1 To make the butter sauce – Cut the butter into small cubes and pop into a small saucepan and melt over a low heat. Place the egg, egg yolk, lemon juice and seasoning into the bowl of a small food processor (or you can do this by hand with a whisk if you have the energy)! Process or whisk the eggs and lemon juice until very thick and pale in colour – about 5 minutes (10minutes by hand).
2 When the eggs have thickened, reheat the butter until it is just beginning to bubble, remove any scum from the surface with a spoon. Then with the whisk, or motor still
running, slowly add the hot butter to the egg mixture until you see it begin to thicken. Only use the liquid butter, leave any milky residue behind. Tip the sauce into a bowl
and keep it warm. I usually put it over a saucepan with some boiled
water in it.
3 To prepare the breadcrumbs – mix the breadcrumbs with the olive oil. Heat a frying pan and fry the crumbs until toasted and crisp. Stir in the chopped herbs, cook for
a further minute, then remove and drain on kitchen paper.
4 To prepare the asparagus spears – Snap the stem near the end to find the beginning of the softer part of the spear. Line them all upand cut them at that point. Peel the spears with a vegetable peeler to remove the cuticles. Heat a wide pan of water to boiling point and add 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Add the asparagus and cook for about 4-6
minutes or until tender through when pierced with the tip of a sharp
knife. Drain well.
5 To assemble – Whisk the whipped cream into the hot butter sauce, taste and adjust the
seasoning to your liking. Plate the asparagus, spoon half of the sauce over the top and finish with the breadcrumbs. Serve the remaining sauce at the table.