Recipe: British Asparagus with Apple & Elderflower
Enjoy this delicate starter highlighting some of the spring/summer season’s star ingredients, asparagus and elderflower. Go one step further and minimise waste in your kitchen by taking leftover lemons and seeded crackers to add punch and crunch to the dish.
Serves 6
Ingredients
18 Spears British Asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
100g Wild Rocket
Leftover Seeded Crackers or Cheese Crackers, blended to a chunky crumb
135g Cashews, unsalted, covered with cold water and soaked in the fridge overnight
120ml Soaking Water
1 Clove Garlic
2tbs Lemon Juice
1tsp Nutritional Yeast
4tbs Rapeseed Oil
1tbs Elderflower Cordial
1 Apple, Granny Smith
2tbs Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
1tbsp Spent Lemon Vinegar
Maldon Sea Salt
1tbs Chopped Chives & Chervil
For the Spent Lemon Vinegar
Lemons which have been squeezed for juice and would otherwise go in the bin
White Wine or Cider Vinegar
How to
To make the spent lemon vinegar, this does take a few weeks, allowing the waste lemons to infuse with the vinegar in a jar. However, you can make a speedy version by gently warming the lemons in a pan with enough vinegar to cover, covering the pan with a lid when taken off the heat and cooling naturally. When it’s ready, remove the lemons from the vinegar and keep for 3 weeks.
Place the soaked cashews in a blender and add all the other ingredients, except the oil. Blend on the highest speed you can until super smooth and creamy, turn the speed down and slowly add in the rapeseed oil. You can make this in advance and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Bring a pan of salted boiling water to the boil, blanch the asparagus for 1 minute and refresh in iced water. Once cool, drain from the water and heat a griddle pan or heavy based frying pan on a high heat. Coat the asparagus in a little oil and salt, add to the pan and allow to char on both sides. Cool in the fridge, then cut each one in half.
Finely dice the Granny Smith apple and place in a bowl with the elderflower, oil, Spent Lemon Vinegar and season with Maldon salt. Mix well and set aside, just before serving mix through the chopped chives and chervil.
Plate the dish by arranging the asparagus on the plate, spoon on the cashew puree, drizzle with the apple and elderflower, spoon on some crumb and garnish with whatever leaves, picked herbs or edible flowers.
