Serves 2
Ingredients
- 8 - 10 spears of asparagus
- 8 baby leeks
- 1 Tbls of olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the hollandaise sauce
- 150g unsalted butter melted
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 Tbls Cider or tarragon vinegar
- 1 Tbls of water
- A good pinch of salt
Method
If you plan to cook your asparagus and leeks over a barbecue, make sure the fire is nice and hot before you start cooking. Alternatively, you can cook the asparagus for a similar amount of time in a hot grill pan.
It’s a good idea to kick things off by making the hollandaise. Put the egg yolks, cider or tarragon vinegar, salt and water in a metal or glass bowl, whisk well, then set it over a pan of just simmering water (or set it directly over the heat of the fire) Whisk the mixture continuously, until it is light and airy. This might take about a couple of minutes of whisking.
Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the melted butter a little at a time, until it’s all combined and you have a lovely smooth rich hollandaise. Finish with a twist of freshly ground black pepper. Keep warm.
Snap the woody base from each asparagus spear, then place the asparagus on a plate. Trim and rinse the leeks and arrange these next to the asparagus. Trickle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
