19 April 2021

Asparagus, Seasonal Ingredient for May

Asparagus makes a great accompaniment to lots of dishes and cooks up in minutes! Try our delicious warm asparagus salad recipe from the comfort of your own at home.

Warm salad of Asparagus, New Potato, Smoked Bacon, Poached Egg, Bearnaise dressing

Ingredients

Makes 4 portions

• British Asparagus 250g
• New potatoes 500g
• Smoked Bacon/Pancetta 250g
• Eggs 4
• Tarragon 15g
• Chives 15g
• Garlic 1 clove
• Rapeseed Oil 150g
• Mustard 35g
• White Wine Vinegar  70g
• Butter 40g

Method

1. Bring a medium size pot of water to the boil.
2. Add new potatoes cut to size if they are larger and cook until tender
3. Whilst the potatoes boil trim asparagus bottoms and reserve the tops, with the stems cut into half centimetre slices, for the last 30 seconds of the potatoes cooking add the asparagus tips to blanch.
4. Drain and cool
5. Prepare the smoked bacon or pancetta into dice.
6. Grate garlic, chop chives and tarragon and add to a mixing bowl along with half of the white wine vinegar, mustard and rapeseed oil, this is your dressing.
7. In a frying pan melt the butter and fry off the bacon pieces, once browned add the potatoes on a medium heat until warm with a little colour.
8. Add asparagus tips and sliced stems and fry for a further minute.
9. Add dressing and remove from the heat.
10. Using remaining vinegar add to a deep pan of water, bring to a simmer and add eggs one at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes on a low heat. Serve with a soft poached egg.

Benefits of Asparagus

• Spring brings the start of a great season for produce; Asparagus has a short but fruitful window. Paired with the new season’s potatoes this dish is light and can be served as a starter. Asparagus is packed with Vitamins A,C,E and K as well as nutrients such as iron, copper and calcium it is also a rich source in antioxidants
• This dish is a great way to reduce salt intake. The dressing strong in white wine vinegar, garlic and mustard reduce the need for salt. The bacon in the dish is the only form of seasoning needed to really make the flavours come together. This can always be removed or substituted for your favourite cheese. The key to this simple starter is fresh and seasonal produce treated very simply to maximise nutrients and flavour.