WHITE ASPARAGUS WITH HERB CRÊPES AND SAUCE HOLLANDAISE

white_asparagus_with_herb_pancakes_and_holondaise_sauce_5_www.creatinghealthytimes.com_Ulrike_Blatz.jpg

The season for white asparagus in Germany starts about mid-April, depending on the weather. The end of the season is marked by June 24th to ensure the plants can properly regenerate for the next year’s harvest.The asparagus are white because they’re grown beneath the soil and aren’t exposed to the sunlight, which would turn them green. You can see the long rows of mounted soil on the fields along the roads. Germans go to great lengths to buy the best and freshest asparagus for this dish, as white asparagus is highly valued and cherished. My mother gets her asparagus wrapped in wet newspaper from a local farmer who harvests them in the early morning hours to ensure they can be consumed that same day. Quality and quantity of white asparagus is more limited in the US but whenever I find it at the local Whole Foods market, I pounce on it and enjoy it very much because it reminds me of home! (Don’t tell my mom, but for me it tastes the same as the ones she gets!)
White asparagus needs to be peeled because the outer layer is very tough to chew and would mess up the whole experience of this wonderful dish. Carefully hold it right below the tip of the asparagus and peel it all the way to the end using a vegetable peeler. After peeling, you also need to cut off 1” of the end part. Voilà, perfectly peeled asparagus.
Next, you have to make sure to preserve the aroma by cooking the asparagus in its own juices, adding just a little bit of butter, honey, salt, and pepper. This can be done by wrapping about 10 asparagus into aluminum foil or, for larger amounts, placing them into a baking dish and sealing them tightly with the foil, making sure to leave as little air as possible under the foil.

Asparagus is naturally low in calories and high in fiber. It contains high amounts of folic acid, Vitamin C, E, B1, and B2. It’s also rich in minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, niacin, and iron, making it one of the most nutritious vegetables available.

Asparagus tastes great with just butter, salt, and pepper, but it tastes even better with hollandaise sauce. And I don’t mean the one you can buy pre-packaged at the supermarket, I mean homemade, of course! At this point, the cooking reaches a whole new level; making a sauce at the perfect temperature is critical.
It took me a while to figure out how to make it because I would regularly overheated it and end up with the eggs fully cooked in a flaky and watery sauce or not heating it enough and it ending up rather fluid.

Here is what I have learned:
- Fresh egg yolks work best.
- Make sure to whisk everything (except the butter) together in the double boiler before you insert it into the nearly boiling water.
Then keep stirring without pause until it turns thick and creamy.
Immediately remove from the hot water and start stirring in the warm butter in small portions.
- You can reheat by placing it back into the hot (not boiling!) water.

In this recipe I added herb crêpes to make it a more filling meal. The savory crêpes are made with coconut flour to make them free of grains and gluten.

WHITE ASPARAGUS

SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs white asparagus
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven at 350°F/180°C.

Grease a deep baking dish with a piece of butter.

Peel the asparagus from right below the tip downwards, making sure to remove all of the outer layer. Cut off 1” of the ends.

Place the asparagus into the deep baking dish and add the butter, salt, honey, sea salt, and pepper. Seal the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil, making sure to leave as little air as possible under the foil.

Bake at 350°F/180°C for 40 to 50 minutes until soft.
Serve immediately with cooked ham, herb crêpes, and hollandaise sauce.

PRINT

HERB CRÊPES

MAKES 8 SMALL CRÊPES
INGREDIENTS
6 eggs
4 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 cup almond milk (I use Elmhurst Unsweetened Milked Almonds 2 ingredient version)
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp parsley, minced
4 tbsp ghee for frying

INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut flour, almond milk, minced parsley, and salt. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes so that the coconut flour can absorb some of the liquid.
Melt the ghee in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Make sure you do not overheat the pan or use an old pan with damaged coating. I use a ceramic-coated pan for this task. Using a small ladle, spoon the dough into the pan and spread the mixture out to make a thin layer. Fry for two minutes until the edges are firm. Flip the crêpes over and fry for one more minute. Move the crêpes to a separate plate and repeat.

PRINT

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp filtered water or vegetable broth
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
optional: 1 tbsp dry white wine
1 pinch of sea salt
fresh grated black pepper
1/8 tsp honey
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a medium-size cooking pot up halfway with water. Place the pot on the stove and heat until the water starts to simmer. Keep the water simmering slightly, it should not boil.

Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, vinegar, wine, honey, and spices to a double boiler. Whisk the ingredients until foamy. Lower the double boiler into the hot water and keep whisking until it turns thick and creamy. Remove from the water and turn off the stove. Add a small amount of butter and keep stirring until it is melted, then add the next portion of butter until all off the butter is integrated into the sauce. Reheat by inserting in warm water, stir. Serve immediately.

note:
Do not overheat the egg yolks!
Since the egg yolks are not fully cooked, it is recommended to consume while fresh.
This sauce works great with asparagus, fish, steaks, and artichokes.

PRINT

MY LATEST RECIPES

BLOG