Crudités with tarragon and lemon mayonnaise

Spring

Crunchy young vegetables are perfect for picnics. You don’t need to cook them, which saves loads of time, they travel exceptionally well and if they’re fresh, they are incredibly sweet and tasty. In the late spring you should be able to find new season carrots, radishes, asparagus spears, sugarsnap peas and baby broad beans. A bit later on in the summer, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, baby beetroots and little courgettes are all in abundance. In the autumn, cauliflower florets are great, wedges of fennel, chicory leaves and even firm chestnut mushrooms have a place.

It’s really nice to have something to dip your vegetables in before you eat them, so sometimes I’ll make a hummus or a taramasalata, but usually I’ll make a herby mayonnaise like this one. Tarragon is such an aromatic, sugary herb and is relatively easy to find in the shops, but if you’re not too sure about it, you can leave it out, or replace it with another herb. Basil works extremely well, too.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

A selection of fresh crisp young vegetables (see intro)

For the tarragon and lemon mayonnaise:

2 very fresh egg yolks
a good pinch of sea salt
½ garlic clove, grated or crushed to a paste
1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
200ml (7fl oz) sunflower oil
150ml (5fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
a small handful of tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

Method

To make the mayonnaise, thoroughly whisk all the ingredients except the oils and tarragon together in a bowl to combine. Combine the two oils in a jug. Now, start to add the oils in a thin trickle, whisking continuously. When the oil mixture starts to emulsify with the yolks, you can add it a little faster. If things have gone to plan, you will have a thick, glossy mayonnaise. Once you’ve incorporated all the oil, stir in the tarragon and a good twist of black pepper. If the mayonnaise seems too thick, whisk in 1 tablespoon of warm water to loosen it slightly. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to go. (Alternatively, you can make the mayonnaise in a food processor, trickling the oils in through the feed tube with the motor running.)

As far as the vegetables go, there is no method. Just make sure they are fresh (if you can grow a few of them yourself, then you’ll be winning), clean and ready to eat. Cut the courgettes (zucchini) and cucumbers into slices or little sticks; split large carrots from top to bottom and don’t bother peeling them unless they have tough skins. You can eat very young broad (fava) beans, like the ones in the picture, pod and all. Asparagus is wonderful uncooked. Eat the tops of the radish, if they’re in good condition. Chew on the pea pods or swallow them, if you like. Make sure any beetroot (beets) are fairly small. Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets. Remove the coarser outer leaves from the fennel bulbs. And don’t be afraid to eat raw mushrooms, they are delicious.

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