[butterworthtom]

Im not sure it can be officially called yet, as it isn't really asparagus season quite yet. But in pre-emptive excitement i bought some asparagus today from beanies.
Made savoury pancakes, each with 2 asparagus sticks in, a slice of parma ham, baked in the oven for 10 minutes and topped off with hollandaise sauce (which I am proud of cause it didn't split!) and then placed under the grill for a minute. Delicous.

[fatdoc]

nice...
that's one easy sauce to split
 

[Sloper]

The trick to hollandaise is to use very cold water to mix with the egg yolk and only use a steel bowl, if you keep your finger tips about an inch inside the bowle you can make sure that the misture never gets to hot, which is the cause of splitting.


Also make sure that your clarified butter is just over melting.

[SpanishJuan]

Yum. sounds like it beats my asparagus with poached egg, smoked salmon and hollandaise on a toasted muffin which I make for my birthday every year. This birthday might have a different breakfast

[butterworthtom]

I didn't use clarified butter. I have never seen it mentioned for hollandaise recipes. I know that a splash of very cold water or an ice cube, followed by beating it into submission for 10 minutes usually rectifies a sauce that has split.

I like it when I go to the toilet and I get a reminder of how good my tea was.

I don't think it ever has to be complicated with Asparagus. I like it with a poached egg on top and a load of grated Parmesan.
Last year I made a really good Asparagus soup with loads of butter and cream in (Its in Simon Hopkinson's "Roast chicken and other stories") and then poached an egg and dropped it in the middle (Which Simon didn't suggest but I thought it was a good addition). Does anyone know where I can get duck eggs from? I think they would be even better sat perched on top of a bundle of asparagus.

[Fultonius]

Just had a sea bream steamed with basil mash, asparagus and a basil hollandaise sauce. 

It was all going well - filleted the fish myself (first time) and the hollandaise was looking and tasting great. Just about the right consistency. While sorting out the other components, the damn thing split - bohooo! 

Tasted good nonetheless. 

[Sloper]

Punter's error, always and I mean always concentrate on finishing your sauce a good five minutes before the rest of the plate, the tip is to remove the steel bowl from the steamer and place its base in cold water while you whisk and season, then place it back on top of the steamer without the heat and stir occasionally.

I would also suggest never putting herbs in your hollandaise directly, the trick is to add them to the white whine / vinegar reduction finely chopped as it cools, flavour without the taint of the leaf.

[robertostallioni]

Keep banging the spoons together Fultonius, I know where I'm going for dinner...





But I'd take my earplugs.

[Charles]

and topped off with hollandaise sauce (which I am proud of cause it didn't split!)

Yes it did.

But full marks for rescuing it again.

[Fultonius]

Punter's error, always and I mean always concentrate on finishing your sauce a good five minutes before the rest of the plate, the tip is to remove the steel bowl from the steamer and place its base in cold water while you whisk and season, then place it back on top of the steamer without the heat and stir occasionally.

I would also suggest never putting herbs in your hollandaise directly, the trick is to add them to the white whine / vinegar reduction finely chopped as it cools, flavour without the taint of the leaf.

Cheers Slopes, good tips! I did have the sauce ready but my mistake was leaving it on a low heat, rather than just above hot water. Simple things!

I shall try again tomorrow with the rest of the asparagus. 

[butterworthtom]

Didn't split when I first made it and chowed the first batch of Asparagus. But when I reheated it for round two it split, and I managed to rescue it with some ice cubes and much beating. I just couldn't be bothered to explain that before. Evil Charlie.

[Fultonius]

Just had a Re-Match - Fultonius 1:1 Asparagus w/Hollandaise.

Taste: Awesome 

[Houdini]

What's the recipe for Hollandaise?


I don't want to ask Google.

[Fultonius]

The very basics are: Egg yolk plus white wine vinegar, whisk in a steel bowl over very slightly simmering water. Slowly add melted butter and keep whisking. It'll slowly get thicker but if it gets too thick and looks a bit oily, it's on its way to splitting - chuck in some cold water or a couple of ice cubes.

1 egg yolk + 1tbsp vinegar + about 100g off butter will make about 1 portion. (Although, double that may serve 4 due to wastage)

More fancy recipes call for mixing the vinegar with water in equal quantities and reducing by half, with bay leaves and peppercorns - surely this just leaves you with what you started with - 1tbsp of slightly flavoured vinegar 

You can add herbs to either the reduction or the sauce, lemon or lime juice at the end and always season well.

Job done 

[Sloper]

Sorry but I have to step in here, here's the way to do hollandaise.

For every egg yolk have a lump of butter the size of the egg, the butter must be unsalted.

Melt the butter with dry flavourings eg peppercorns, nutmeg, star anise (a favourite of mine if you're serving with air dried ham) slowly and make sure you don't over cook it, if the butter starts going brown you've over done it.  The pour off the clear butter from the white solids.

use I table spoon of very cold water per egg yolk and whisk gently not over heat.

When emulsified put the bowl, which must be steel (with a metal whisk) on a gently steaming bowl and gradually add the clarified butter a table spoon at a time while whisking moderately.

When the sauce is reaching a nice custard remove from the heat (and turn off the pan) and add anything like herbs, smoked paprika etc, then place the bottom of the bowl in cold water and slowly stir until it's cool.

Then add vinegar, reduced wine (whether flavoured or not), lemon juice etc stiring briskly  NOT whisking and place the bowl on top of the warm pan and stir occasionally.

If it splits use a new egg yolk with cold water over a reasonably strong steaming pan and slowly whisk the split sauce into this.

[Paul B]

good knowledge, i'd been stuck with Delia's foaming hollandaise from asking Google! Tasted alright but was all bubbly.

[Houdini]

Cheers.


But the question remains:  white or green?  I'll chime in w/ what I think will be an unpopular vote for white asparagus.


Also, I think croutons are important.

[andybfreeman]

I'm partial to a bit of white asparagus when i can get it. It seemed easier to get hold of in France and i spent a very happy evening in font last year eating fat stalks sauteed in butter over a tiny gas stove

It was the Bristol farmer's market yesterday so i picked up a couple of bunches of green which had been grown in seaweed. slightly more ozoney taste than normal but delicious. served simply sauteed in butter with a smoked mackerel fillet, poached egg and hollandaise. Gave me an excuse to get a lovely 2006 rive-blanques out that had been languishing in the fridge for a couple of months

I bought some brown old breed eggs from asda in the hope they'd be better than the site they normally sell and was pleasantly surprised. fat deep yellow yolks - my hollandaise came out such an amazing yellow, very impressed!

My hollandaise recipe is pretty easy - melt butter, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice in a steel bowl till emulsified then slowly add the butter whisking all the time. i don't bother to strain the butter but then i'm lazy! season with black or white pepper just before serving

Blue skies, asparagus for dinner - what could be better!

[SpanishJuan]

white asparagus is the veal calf of the asparagus world.
I've been wondering why you can't get it over here. as it's sooo dam good

[Sloper]

You can, you just need to knoiw where to go.

Richard Clarke in Leamington Spa used to have it regularly, I'm sure there's a decent greengrocer around that will have it.

Personally I think purple asparagus is the real prize.

[grumpycrumpy]

Maybe you can find it  round these parts  ..... But how fresh will it be ? ......

[Fultonius]

This guy's certainly had the calling: