STARTER
Asparagus, bacon and poached egg salad with a mustard dressing
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 bundles
British asparagus
4 tsp wine vinegar
4 eggs 4 generous handfuls mixed salad leaves
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon cut into small strips and cooked until crispy
2 tbsp bread croutons
For the dressing you'll need:
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 cloves crushed garlic
Sea salt & black pepper
Method
1
Clean the asparagus and trim any white ends or peel with a vegetable peeler.
2
Combine dressing ingredients and season to taste.
3
Cook asparagus in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes or until just tender. Drain well and toss in a teaspoonful of dressing.
4
Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the wine vinegar and poach the eggs.
5
Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the wine vinegar and poach the eggs.
MAIN
Pan fried fillet of beef with roasted British asparagus, shallots and new potatoes and a red pepper and horseradish hollandaise
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 bundles British asparagus
4 x 250g British beef fillet steaks
20 shallots, peeled and left whole
700g scrubbed new potatoes, halved
4 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 sprigs thyme
300g mixed mushrooms, halved
Sea salt & black pepper
For the red pepper hollandaise you’ll need:
6 black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
150ml white wine
100ml white wine vinegar
4 large egg yolks
250g unsalted butter, diced
100g chopped, cooked red pepper
2 tbsp horseradish
Sea salt & black pepper
Method
1
Clean the asparagus and trim any white ends or peel with a vegetable peeler and cut each spear in half.
2
Preheat the oven to 200˚c. Mix the shallots and potatoes together with the olive oil, butter, balsamic vinegar and thyme in a roasting tin. Season and place in the oven for 25 minutes. Then add the asparagus and mushrooms, making sure that the olive oil and butter coat the spears generously. Return to the oven for 4 minutes.
3
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, put the peppercorns with the wine and vinegar in a saucepan over a moderate heat and bring to the boil.
4
Boil rapidly until there is 1 tbsp of liquid remaining.
5
Meanwhile place a stainless steel or glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Strain the reduction into the bowl to remove the peppercorns and whisk in the egg yolks until they are thick and warm. Do not let them overheat or they will scramble.
6
Slowly add the butter, whisking to make a thick, smooth sauce. When all the butter has been added, season the sauce and add the red pepper and horseradish. Keep warm.
7
To cook the steaks, heat a dash of olive oil in a griddle pan until hot and add the steaks. Season and cook for 3 minutes each side for rare, 5 minutes each side for medium.
8
Allow to rest and serve with the asparagus, mushrooms, potatoes and shallots and red pepper hollandaise.
MAIN
Asparagus pasta ‘Primavera’
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 bundles British asparagus
400g dried pasta
4 egg yolks
200ml double cream
120g grated Parmesan
30g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tomatoes, peeled and deseeded and cut into eighths
50g frozen peas
Sea salt & black pepper
Method
1
Clean the asparagus and trim any white ends or peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut each spear in half.
2
Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet.
3
Mix egg yolks, double cream and Parmesan and season well.
4
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the asparagus with the garlic for two minutes. Add the tomatoes and peas and cook for a further minute.
5
When the pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pan. Toss the egg and cream mixture through the pasta, the heat of the pasta will thicken the sauce. Then add the asparagus, peas and tomatoes to the pan, adjust the seasoning, toss together and serve with extra grated Parmesan.
DESSERT
Rachel’s take on Eton Mess
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 meringue nests
750ml double cream
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
150g hulled strawberries, halved
150g blackberries
150g raspberries
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
Grated zest of 1 orange
Method
1
Break the meringue into large pieces.
2
Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla essence until stiff. Fold in the broken pieces of meringue, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, Grand Marnier and orange zest.
3
To serve, spoon mixture into bowls and garnish with additional berries if desired.
