grilled asparagus with aïoli
What joy: it’s asparagus season! Their shoots are starting to appear in our garden and I love going outside to keep an eye on their progress.
Aïoli always takes me back to a fantastic family holiday in the Alpes Maritimes in South-East France. The tiny village where we were staying was en fête and we all joined the villagers trooping down to an olive grove overlooking the sea, where there were tables laid out ready for us in a grand semicircle. First, huge bowls of aïoli arrived and we waited in anticipation and delight as a succession of wonderful vegetables appeared for us to dip into our aïoli: potatoes, French beans, carrots and baby artichokes … So, while asparagus season lasts only two months, happily we can enjoy aïoli all year round!
When preparing the aïoli, make sure that all the ingredients and the bowl are at room temperature, to prevent curdling. Should disaster strike, rescue the situation by starting again with a fresh yolk and slowly adding the curdled mixture.
SERVES 4
16 asparagus spears
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
200ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon artisan vinegar (or one teaspoon lemon juice and a teaspoon of lemon zest)
Freshly ground black pepper
First make the aïoli. Put the egg yolks, salt and garlic cloves into the bowl of a food processor. Whizz for a minute, until nicely combined, then, with the motor running, begin to add the olive oil through the funnel. At first this must be done very slowly, teaspoon by teaspoon, blending in the oil between each addition. When the emulsion thickens, probably after a minute, you can add the oil in a thin, constant stream, taking care not to swamp the emulsifying sauce. Finally, add the vinegar (or lemon) and some pepper to taste.
To cook the asparagus, preheat the grill to medium-high. Meanwhile, blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. (If your asparagus is very thin and fresh you can skip this stage.)
Lay the asparagus on a grill pan and sprinkle a little olive oil on top. Grill the asparagus, turning it once, until soft and slightly charred, about five minutes. Serve the asparagus at once with a good dollop of aïoli.
Any leftover aïoli will keep in the fridge for up to a week.