Classic cooked white asparagus with dill lemon mustard sauce – Medical Medium & vegan

Asparagus with a lovely, classical sauce made from lemon and mustard and a touch of fresh dill. Most classical sauces use cream and eggs, but this one is egg and dairyfree. If you don’t eat vinegar you can easily make mustard yourself grinding mustard seeds with lemon juice. This way this recipe is not only vegan, but Medical Medium as well (although it’s not fatfree).

Asparagus season

Every year I look forward to the asparagus season. In the Netherlands you can buy the first asparagus from the end of February. These are often grown behind glass. This used to be from mid-March, but it seems to be a little earlier every year. In this first period they are still a bit expensive and they are not yet available in the supermarket. From April, asparagus also are available from what we call ‘the open ground’. May is the peak time. Asparagus are widely available then. In the summer you won’t find any fresh asparagus anymore… And I start longing for next year.

How to cook asparagus?

You can steam or grill asparagus. But in this recipe I show you how to cook them. It’s best to cook the asparagus in a large pan completely covered with water. You also add the peels to the water, and the ends/bottom pieces that you’ve cut off! This adds so much flavour and it will create a broth you can use for other recipes. They taste best if you also add some lemon juice. Cook the asparagus briefly: only about 5 minutes.

After cooking, set them aside for another 10 minutes. Still in the pan, in the warm water. Why? I honestly have no idea. But that’s how I learned it a long time ago from a friend that grew up in the main area where asparagus are grown (the province Limburg). They are the specialists in our country. The asparagus are very tasty this way. And that’s how I still do it.

How should you peel asparagus?

There will certainly be chef-proof methods. But I’m quite happy with my own method: just with a potato peeler.

• First make sure there is no sand left in the heads of the asparagus. You can carefully rinse the tops under the tap.
• Lay the asparagus flat on your workbench.
• Hold just below the head. One or two fingers is enough. Do not press too firmly, otherwise the asparagus will break.
• Then peel from where your finger is to the end. This way you get one long, thin peel in one long stroke. Usually just enough to remove the woody, stringy material that forms the skin.
• Then turn the asparagus and repeat. You wil need about 5 or 6 small turns.
• Everything that has been properly peeled is now a bit lighter and moist. It shines a bit. You can easily spot any pieces of skin that you may have missed and give them another small slicing.
• After peeling cut off the ends. Only now (after peeling) can you judge how woody the bottom is and how much needs to be removed.

Soup from the cooking liquid of asparagus

Never throw away the cooking liquid! You can make delicious asparagus soup with it. Idea: cook a little more, keep at least 2 asparagus aside. Save this in the fridge until the next day. With the peels and the bottoms/ends in the cooking liquid. You strain those out again just before use.

Ingredients

While the asparagus are ‘resting’, you can make a simple dressing with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and dill. You can add some mustard to taste to thicken the dressing.

• White asparagus – As a side dish (depending on what you eat with it) you can take about 6 asparagus per person. So that will be 12 pieces for 2 portions. That comes down to about 400 grams. But asparagus can vary enormously in thickness.
• Lemons – One lemon per person, you use the juice.
• Mustard – I used one tablespoon. Since I don’t eat vinegar I make my own mustard. You will fin a link in the recipe below.
• Extra virgin olive oil – Use a good, real extra virgin olive oil in (dark) glass.
• Dill – I used 2 handsful of fresh dill.

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