Have you seen asparagus pop up in the markets? We have and this time of year, we love to cook asparagus as much as possible before they go out of season. Today we have a recipe for you: asparagus with a mousseline sauce.
For this recipe, we turned to Laure from the French marketing team at iDealwine.
Hello there! As I’m seeing this spring vegetable appear everywhere I turn at the moment, I thought I’d share my favourite recipe for this springtime vegetable. When I was little, one of the first recipes I learnt was homemade mayonnaise; very quick to make once it’s stored away in your memory! And the taste is nothing like the mayonnaise you buy in the supermarket. Mousseline sauce is just like a simple mayonnaise, to which you add a whisked egg white. This sauce is therefore lighter than mayonnaise with a more delicate taste, making it a perfect accompaniment for such a fine vegetable.
Ingredients
- Green asparagus (white can work, too) – 3-4 stems per person
- An egg
- Salt, pepper
- Dijon mustard (Laure is a true Burgundian)
- Sunflower oil
Method
Cut the end of the asparagus off, and cook the stems in salted, boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Check if they’re cooked using a knife. Once done, place them aside on a plate.
Separate the egg yolk from the white.
Add some salt and pepper to the yolk, add a tablespoon of mustard, and mix with an electric whisk.
Add a dash of olive oil and beat the mixture, continuing with this until the mayonnaise begins to take shape. For a more unctuous mayonnaise, you can add a little water. What you have here is a classic mayonnaise.
After washing the whisks, beat the egg white into peaks – it should be quite firm. Incorporate the egg white into the mayonnaise very carefully, as you don’t want to break the white. Once your mousseline is nice and thick, it’s ready to go! Keep it in the fridge to serve fresh.
You can also add some fresh herbs to the mousseline – Laure likes chopped chives or parsley.
Wine pairings
This dish would be perfect with a dry white wine – a fresh, fruity cuvée will complement the asparagus perfectly. El-Hem or Le Jaja from Domaine Partagé have some lovely floral notes and fresh pear, a perfectly delicate accompaniment. Or why not opt for a wine from the Loire, such as a Savennières from Coulée de Serrant? And if you have a penchant for Crozes, you might want to choose a Crozes-Hermitage from Domaine Graillot, the Marsanne grape variety being a wonderful pairing for the taste of asparagus.
Bon appétit!
Also on the iDealwine blog:
Green asparagus, Parma ham, soft-boiled egg and parmesan wafers
