Normandy Asparagus

Early-season asparagus takes centre stage in this dish from Michèle Roberts’ French Cooking for Two, paired with ribbons of ham and leek and finished with chilled parsley butter for a fresh spring starter…

Serves 2 | Prep time: 10 minutes +30 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch asparagus (use 2 for a main dish)
• 1 thin slice of Bayonne ham or other good quality ham
• 1 leek
• 1 stalk of celery
• 2 walnuts of butter
• 1 tbsp minced parsley + 2 extra sprigs

METHOD

1. Gently melt the butter and stir in the minced parsley. Chill this in a small bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Top and tail the leek. Pull off one long leaf and boil it for a couple of minutes until it softens, then drain it and cut it lengthways into four ribbons (use the rest of the leek for soup tomorrow).
3. Remove any strings from the stalk of celery and finely slice it (important for the appearance of the finished dish).
4. Cut the slice of ham into four lengthways. Bend an asparagus spear until it snaps, and discard the woody end. Use this stalk as a template for cutting the others to match.
5. Steam the asparagus for 10 minutes or so, until a stem feels tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain it.
6. Separate into two bunches, each faced with a sprig of parsley, and round the middle of each bunch tie or wrap ribbons of ham and of leek. Lay them flat on an oval dish. Scatter over the celery, and top each bunch with a scoop of cold parsley butter.

Lead photo credit : Photo: Shutterstock