Asparagus with French Sauce

Serves 6 - 8

Procedure

1. Cut off the bottom inch or so—wherever it’s tough and woody—and discard. Use a vegetable peeler (or paring knife if the asparagus are huge or tough) to peel the skin away from beneath the flowering part of the stalk. Discard the skin.

2. Steam or boil in salted water for 2 to 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the stalks. Drain.

3. If you’re serving them cold, immediately rinse off with cold water to stop the cooking.

For the Sauce

1. Whisk together the egg yolk, salt, and vinegar until smooth. 

2. Slowly whisk in the oil—add about a teaspoon at a time and work it in slowly—until the sauce begins to stiffen. 

3. At this point, the oil can be added a tablespoon at a time.

**Asparagus is notoriously hard to pair but the Alsatian Pinot Gris is the closest pairing given the taste of the asparagus.

Featured Sauce: Morel/porcini mushroom mayonnaise

Ingredients

Asparagus

Wine Pairings:

Alsatian Pinot Gris

For the Sauce:

1 egg yolk
Pinch salt
½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
½ cup inert oil such as grape seed oil or avocado oil

Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Serves 24

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cut the prosciutto strips in half lengthwise, so you have 24 long, skinny strips. Wrap each asparagus stalk tightly with prosciutto and place on a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan. Season with ground pepper.

3. Bake until prosciutto is crisp and asparagus has browned.

Ingredients

24 thick asparagus stalks, woody ends trimmed

12 slices prosciutto

Freshly ground black pepper