Asparagus with 3 hams & 3 sauces
For 4 people
– 4 kg of asparagus
– 400 g ham on the bone
– 150 g of raw ham
– 150 g smoked ham
Progression
Remove all the asparagus with a vegetable peeler or peeler, laying it flat on a work surface to avoid breaking it. (Note that only white asparagus needs to be peeled). Start 1 cm below the head, down to the foot. Once your asparagus is peeled, cut off the stem. The knife should slice it easily, if not, lightly re-slice or cut a little higher.
Cook the asparagus in water vertically (a must!) for 12 to 18 minutes depending on the diameter of the asparagus. Cooking vertically is ideal to avoid submerging the tips and breaking them if overcooked. It combines the advantages of steaming and cooking.
Other : Immerse the asparagus in a large volume of salted boiling water for 7 to 10 minutes. Check for softness with the tip of a knife, then gently drain and serve immediately. Or, in 15 minutes in the steam, or in 12 minutes in the pan, detailed in pieces and braised in butter.
Mayonnaise sauce: Mix 2 egg yolks with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice (or wine vinegar or tarragon), then 2 spoonfuls of mustard. Add oil drop by drop, turning with a spatula or whisk. To make it smoother and more digestible, use rapeseed oil and add 2 egg whites beaten until stiff. You can also flavour it by adding a spoonful of grated horseradish.
White Chive Sauce: Melt 20 g of butter in a saucepan and add 20 g of flour. Stir well and thicken on the stove while stirring. Add the hot mixture of milk and asparagus cooking water gradually, stirring constantly. Cook for 10 minutes on very low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add one egg yolk and chopped chives. Add salt and pepper. Serve this sauce hot.
Vinaigrette sauce: Finely chop one onion and the fine herbs (parsley and chives). In a salad bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of Melfor vinegar, 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, 1 tablespoon of Alsace sweet mustard, a chopped hard-boiled egg, an onion and the fine herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Traditional Alsatian recipe provided by The Association for the Promotion of Alsatian Asparagus
