Fendi's week

It's that time of the year again: spring is springing in bounds and leaps, back and forth and roundabout. What used to be April weather now passes as March, at least in this neck of the woods. Elsewhere winter is still tightly holding on, while in other regions it never really settled in, in the first place. One of the most wonderful spring things to sprout at this time of the year (to my taste, anyhow), is wild asparagus. Regular cultivated asparagus bolts in May, but the wild variety pops up a little earlier. They are much daintier, but a delicacy nevertheless. Foraging for asparagus is not like ordinary foraging. It is more akin to mushroom hunting, for asparagus has a great talent to hide itself among the briars and bushes and often you won't see them at all until they are way too old and have started to sprout their feathery fronds. But once you have developed a 'nose' for the right season and the right places where the elusive spears might be found, hunting them down is an exquisite, fun-filled adventure, which may land you in some very strange places.
Asparagus likes to grow in a variety of places, depending on the species. Asparagus likes water, but not water-logged areas. It grows in well draining soil, near ditches or riverbeds and alluvial plains, where there is plenty of moisture nearby. It usually likes full sun, though some varieties also tolerate heavier soil and semi-shaded areas.
Although asparagus has a very distinctive appearance, it can be hard to spot.

Jean Marie found some wild asparagus in the forest.

We steam cooked them for 4 - 5 minutes and served them luke warm with a hollandaise sauce. 

Here is the recipe for a classic Hollandaise Sauce

7oz salted butter
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon fine grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
If you have unsalted butter, you can add a ¼ teaspoon salt to the sauce.You should not need to add any salt if the butter is salted but check the seasoning at the end anyway

All you need to do is assemble the ingredients and get your cookware together.

First, we need to melt the butter. This needs to be done five minutes or so ahead of time so that the milk solids can sink to the bottom. This is important for when we whisk in the butter as it allows us to control the consistency of the sauce.
Place a large pot filled to a third with water on to boil. Choose a stainless steel mixing bowl that sits on top of the pot but does not touch the water and place the egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and vinegar into the mixing bowl.
Turn the heat down to just under a simmer, this is the ideal heat and won't cook the yolks too fast. Sit the bowl over the water and gently whisk the yolk mixture in the bowl over the water and they will slowly start to heat and increase in volume.
Don't forget the purpose of the whisking is not to aerate the mixture so much as to avoid the yolks catching and also ensuring even thickening. You will notice the yolk mixture becomes a little thicker on the bottom and around the edges. Keep a towel around the outside of the bowl so that you can remove it from the heat if it starts to form lumps from heating too fast.
Keep the yolk mixture moving constantly by whisking continuously. You will notice the bubbles that form will get smaller and smaller and soon become the larger part of the yolk mix as the runny yolk cooks. The only thing that is important to remember at this stage is that if it starts to catch, lift the bowl above the pot to slow down the heating. In around five to ten minutes, the yolk mixture should be holding it's shape like a soft whipped cream and the texture should be as smooth. This means the yolks are cooked but not to the point of being scrambled and you have made yourself what is called in French cooking a "sabayon".
Sabayon can also be made with yolks and sugar. This is the base for many well-known recipes like parfait and semi fredo (parfait with a fair amount of alcohol like tequila added and served semi frozen). Often this technique is also used as a base for decadent cake baking.
Next comes the whisking in of the butter, make sure the butter is boiling hot. Place the sabayon bowl onto a damp cloth so it won't spin while you whisk. While whisking fast slowly pour on the butter keeping a steady stream of butter but keep the stream as thin as possible.   Bit by bit it will "take" and you have a wonderful fluffy, tasty sauce ready for your asparagus.

 


Meanwhile at the shop ...

A beautiful blue and cream lace ensemble in pure silk hand made in Lyon by a wonderful company that makes very few items but each to exquisite perfection.

Lacy curtains show the courtyard in the throes of a "clean up".

Fendi eats everything in her reach - the asparagus were fascinating.  

She was resigned to sitting outside the shop and looking out for compliments.  She was inundated with people stroking her and saying how beautiful she was.    If I had 10 euros for each photo taken of her I would be a rich lady today !!