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Asparagus

The new season for British Asparagus arrives in late April; a highlight of the foodie calendar and one greeted with greedy anticipation by everyone in this household.

A perfect fat bunch of those tender green spears needs little more than a gentle boil or steam for a couple of minutes and is best served as simply as possible. Salt, pepper and a drizzle of melted butter is perfect, but if you want to go a step further and serve up something truly special, worthy of the freshest fat bunch you can find then try this lime and mint hollandaise. It’s a gorgeous lunch for a warm day or an elegant, simple starter. You can keep the hollandaise warm over a pan of hot(ish) water or an easier way is just to put it into a thermos flask (you will have heated it first with boiling water). It will keep well in there for a couple of hours.

A useful tip when preparing your asparagus is to take the stem, holding it at each end and snap in half. It will break perfectly at the point where the stem is no longer tender.

ASPARAGUS with a LIME AND MINT HOLLANDAISE
Serves 4

Two bunches of fresh British asparagus
2 free range egg yolks
Water
110g unsalted butter
A little boiling water
1 lime
Handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper

First make the hollandaise.

Take a bowl and put in the egg yolks. Cut the butter into small chunks. Add a couple of teaspoons of cold water and whisk well. Sit the pan over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk the yolks for a couple of minutes. Then slowly add the butter, a piece of two at a time. The sauce will start to form, thin at first and then thickening up as the yolks start to cook. As you add the butter just be sure that the pan doesn’t get too hot. You should always be able to touch the bottom of the bowl with your hand with.

Keep whisking, adding the butter. As it starts to get very thick add a teaspoon or two of boiling water and whisk that in. Add salt and pepper and squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Taste and add more until you have the right balance. Keep whisking until you have a smooth, glossy and thick hollandaise. Put to one side while you cook your asparagus.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for two to three minutes depending on the thickness of your stems. Put the thickest in first.

Drain well (keep a little of the asparagus water if you can) and season. Shake in a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and toss through.

Back to your hollandaise. If it is still quite thick you can add in a little of the asparagus water. Stir through your finely chopped mint leaves and serve with the warm asparagus and some crusty bread. Delicious!

SCALLOP & PRAWN SKEWERS with SPICED PUY LENTIL, CHARRED BROCCOLI and TAHINI YOGURT SAUCE

Sometimes it’s nice to make something a little bit special when there are just two of you for an evening in and this certainly hits the spot for us. Scallops are, undeniably a bit of a treat ingredient and this is a lovely way of cooking them. They look so pretty with their pink corals still attached but if you prefer not to eat these then just leave them out. Prawns are a natural partner and the whole thing is enhanced with some gentle spicing. Make the lentils and dressing in advance (up to two days ahead but no more) and skewer the seafood in the morning, leaving a not particularly onerous task later of some quick cooking and heating up. Tahini is a favourite ingredient of mine and it is put to good use here to make a speedy sauce that is big on flavour and a lovely enhancement of this recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

SERVES 2

8 scallops with roe
12 prawns king raw
teaspoon cumin
teaspoon coriander
rind half lemon
olive oil

50g puy lentils, rinsed
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
250 ml boiling water
1 heaped teaspoon marigold stock powder or similar
bayleaf
Half a small broccoli, the florets sliced.
Two tablespoons natural yoghurt
One tablespoon tahini paste
Lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Freshly chopped coriander
Freshly chopped flatleaf parsley
Half a lemon or lime
Four wooden skewers, soaked in cold water

Stir the tahini and yoghurt together and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and let the whole thing down with some ice cold water until like thick double cream. Add a teaspoon of extra virgin oil. Set aside.

Clean and devein the prawns. Put into a bowl with the scallops (I leave the roe attached) and add the marinade ingredients. Leave for about half an hour while you get on with the lentils.

Finely chop the shallot. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the shallot. Soften for a minute or two and then add the grated ginger, garlic, cumin and coriander. Cook for a few more minutes and then stir in the lentils. Add the boiling water and stock. Simmer for around twenty to twenty five minutes until the lentils are tender and all the water has been absorbed. If the lentils are cooked and you have too much liquid simply drain any excess away. Add some seasalt and black pepper, a little olive oil and lots of freshly chopped parsley and coriander.

Put the scallops and prawns on the skewers. You will have more prawns than scallops so double up occasionally. Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Sear the skewers on all sides until the scallops are cooked through and the prawns pink.

Heat more oil in a frying pan and quickly sauté the broccoli slices with some finely sliced garlic until tender and a bit charred.

Heap the lentils up on a plate. Top with the broccoli and the skewers. Drizzle around the tahini dressing and scatter over more coriander. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime.