Description
Simple and flavorful. The bright flavors of citrus and the pop of champagne pair beautifully with fresh spring Asparagus. Vegan Recipe.
Ingredients
For the Asparagus:
- 1 bunch of Asparagus
- 1 bulb of Fennel
- 1 Spring Onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 almonds
- 1 Orange
- 1 Lemon
- For the Vinaigrette:
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil (the best you have)
- 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar (we love Acetaia di Terga)
- 1 tablespoons of Savora mustard (One of Le Chef's favorites from France - it is available in specialty food stores, the turmeric really adds brightness to the dish)
- Pinch of coarse sea salt
- Pinch of ground pepper
- finch of finely sliced spring onion
- zest of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons of Champagne (I don't think we need to tell you what to do with the rest of the bottle!)
Instructions
For the Asparagus:
( Le Chef’s tip - I have learned to prep all of the ingredients before I actually start cooking, a process called "la mise en place" - it saves time and keeps me from overcooking an item as you are prepping the next ingredient - or wrangling a toddler…)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Set a pot of salted water to boil (enough to completely cover the asparagus). I like to use a deep sauteuse pan.
- Slice the almonds in thin slivers, leaving 3 almonds whole for later. Slice the heart of the fennel bulb into thin slivers. Finely chop the spring onion. Set aside.
- Slice the lemon in half and put the halves in the oven on a cookie sheet or grill pan drizzled with olive oil, sliced edge down for 15 minutes.
- Cut the white ends off of the asparagus (it looks neater if all the asparagus are the same length). Set the asparagus in the boiling salted water with a bay leaf for no longer than 5 minutes (less if you like your asparagus really crunchy).
- For the Vinaigrette:
- Whisk ingredients together until emulsified; it should only take a few turns of the whisk.
- Finishing the dish
- Place the asparagus on a serving dish, garnished with the 2 roasted lemons.
- Pour the Champagne Citrus Vinaigrette over the asparagus spears.
- Top with a few slivers of the shaved fennel, the remaining spring onion and sliced almonds.
- Using a zester, zest an orange directly over the dish ( a light dusting will do) as well as the remaining almonds.
- Serve immediately. With a Glass of Champagne of course!
Notes
If Asparagus are in season, look for the skinniest spears available, they have more flavour.
If you don't have Savora mustard, Dijon mustard is a nice alternative.
This recipe is vegan but if you love parmesan cheese, by all means feel free to top liberally with parmesan!
I love my microplane zester. It is the perfect tool for this recipe - it zests the orange and lemons perfectly as well as the almonds.
La Mise en Place ( Le Chef’s tip - I have learned to prep all of the ingredients before I actually start cooking - it saves time and keeps me from overcooking an item as you are prepping the next ingredient - or wrangling a toddler…)