Recipe – Asparagus Easter Feast

Our favourite whites with asparagus

The crunchy asparagus, together with the salinity of the anchovies and nutty flavours of the beurre noisette make a great match with wines that have a full body, crisp acidity and an aromatic expression without being dominated by oak.

Vermentino Bianco by Terenzuola, Tuscany
A full bodied, floral, mineral, super clean white.
Makes great friends with asparagus and other spring veggies

L’Ermot by La Salada, Catalunya
Natural wine, skin macerated, not filtered, saline and full bodied.
Delicate enough for asparagus, well suited for strong flavours like anchovies

Shopping list for 4 people

• 30 grams of butter
• 1 kilo of the thinnest size white asparagus you can find, peeled and cut off
• 12 quail eggs
• 1 can of good anchovies in olive oil (approx. 50 grams gross weight, Ortiz has the best)
• 1 organic lemon
• Maldon sea salt

Also necessary

• saucepan
• grill rack (can also be used under the oven grill)
• steel pliers
• small frying pan
• pair of scissors
• plate
• grater

Let’s start

As soon as you have a thick layer of coal and the fire is tempered, you can start with the beurre noisette. Place your saucepan on the grid and let the butter melt in it. Keep the pan on the fire until the butter turns light brown and smells like roasted nuts (noisette = hazelnut). You have to be careful not to heat too long and fast, because then it will turn black and bitter. So, put the pan aside in time!

Place the asparagus on the hottest part of the grill and turn them regularly until they are brown and crispy on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. Meanwhile, fry 3 quail fried eggs per person in a frying pan; quite a job because you don’t break it so easily on the edge of a pan. To prevent shell from getting into your fried egg, cut an opening in the egg shell with a sharp scissor, then divide the eggs over the pan. When the egg white has set you can scoop them on a warm plate.

Place the asparagus on warm plates, drizzle some beurre noisette over them and place the fried eggs against them. Put a piece of anchovy fillet on each egg, and sprinkle some grated lemon zest and a few drops of lemon juice. Season with salt and voilá.

Click here for more recipes!