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Grilled Asparagus with Duck Eggs |
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
In my files I have a recipe for “Asparagus with poached eggs and Hollandaise” that I served at a brunch class I taught a few years ago. It was delicious. But more recently, I had grilled asparagus with a poached duck egg from Holly Smith’s kitchen at her Kirkland restaurant, Café Juanita. In lieu of sauce, the grilled asparagus was served with a drizzle of California Olive Oil and a few curls of Reggiano Parmesan. All the local farmer’s markets are offering duck eggs. They’re bigger than chickens’ eggs and offer a higher ratio of rich yellow yolk to white. I don’t know when local Farmer’s Markets will start offering asparagus, but in my garden, the asparagus is usually up by May Day, so I’m hoping for the best.
(Serves 4)
For the asparagus:
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
2 pounds jumbo asparagus, about 24 spears
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the eggs:
water reserved from cooking the asparagus
1 tablespoon of champagne or white balsamic vinegar
4 duck eggs
curls of Reggiano Parmesan cut with a vegetable peeler
truffle oil or bright green California olive oil, if desired
1.) Boil the water and salt in a large pot over high heat. While the water is coming to a boil, trim the asparagus into 6-inch spears. With a vegetable peeler, remove the dark green skin from the bottom half of each spear.
2.) Drop the asparagus into the boiling water and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Lift the asparagus out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon and scatter the asparagus onto a baking sheet to cool. Save the water to poach the duck eggs.
3.) Align six stalks of the asparagus, tip to tip and trim away the base of the stems to make a neat row of stalks, 6-inches tall. Push two bamboo skewers horizontally through the row to hold them in place, making a sort of mat. Repeat with the remaining asparagus. The asparagus may be prepared ahead up to this point and finished just before serving.
4.) To poach the duck eggs, add vinegar to the water in which the asparagus was cooked, and keep the water simmering on low heat. Crack the eggs directly into the simmering water. Cook until the whites are set and the yolks are heated through but still runny.
5.) To grill the asparagus, rub the asparagus "mats" with olive oil and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the mats on a preheated grill or under the broiler in your oven just until the outside of the spears is blistering hot and beginning to brown. Transfer the asparagus to plates and remove the bamboo skewers. Serve hot with a poached duck egg on top of each serving. Shave parmesan curls off a block of Reggiano Parmesan directly over each serving and serve hot. A drizzle of truffle oil or bright green California olive oil is optional.
Copyright, Greg Atkinson, 2008
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