Delicious UK - (04)April 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 55

food memories.

Twothingshere.Oneisthat,inmyopinion,thebestsauce

inclassicFrenchcuisineishollandaise– a saucemadewith

whippedbutterandeggswitha hintoflemonjuiceandwhite

winevinegar.VivelaFrance!However,whatitisbestserved

withisEnglishasparagus,theflavourofwhich has not yet

beenmatchedbythatofanyothercountry.

Asa cookerywriterwantingtomakethingseasierforpeople

withnocookingskills,thechallengeinthiscasewasthatclassic

hollandaiseneedsa certainamountofskill,asaddingmelted

buttertoeggyolkstoformanemulsificationisfraughtwiththe

possibilityofcurdling,inwhichcasethere’snoremedy.Somakingitwitha processor

insteadofa handwhiskhelpsand,becausehollandaiseisalsoveryrich,tolightenit

andpreventanycurdlingonceit’smade, I add whisked egg whites, which stabilise

itandmakecurdlingimpossible.

Thusyoucanmakethesaucewellahead,keepitcoveredinthefridge,reheatitin

a bowloverbarelysimmeringwater,andyes,ifneedsbeevenfreezeit.However, what

you can’t do is let the very short asparagus season pass without having it.

Freshasparaguswith

foaminghollandaise

SERVES 4 AS A STARTER

• 570gfreshasparagus stalks
  (medium thick)


• Salt

FORTHESAUCE

• 2 largefree-range eggs,
  separated


• 1 dessertspoonlemonjuice


• 1 dessertspoon white wine
  vinegar


• 110gsaltedbutter


• Saltandfreshly milled black
  pepper

NEXT

MONTH

English

potted crab

METHOD

Youcanmakethesauceatanytime:

we’vetriedit chilledovernightinthe

refrigerator,whichmakesa nice

contrastwiththehotasparagus,

oryoucanserveit warmor even

at room temperature.

Beginbyplacingtheeggyolksina

foodprocessororblendertogether

withsomesalt,switchonandblend

themthoroughly.Ina small

saucepan,heatthelemonjuiceand

vinegartillthemixturesimmers,

thenswitchtheprocessoronagain

andpourthehotliquidontothe

eggyolksina steadystream.Switch

off,theninthesamesaucepan

meltthebutter– nottoofiercely,

asit mustn’tbrown.Whenit is

liquidandfoaming,switchonthe

processoroncemoreandpourin

thebutter– againina steady,thin

stream– untilit isallincorporated

and the sauce has thickened.

Next,ina smallbowl,whiskthe

eggwhitesuntiltheyformsoft

peaks.Thenfoldthesauce,a

tablespoon at a time, into the egg

whitesandtastetocheckthe

seasoning.Whenyou’vedonethat,

it’sreadyto serve or it can be left

til l l ate r.

Tocooktheasparagus,takeeach

stalkinbothhandsandbendand

snapoffthewoodyend,thentrim

witha knifetomakeit neater.Lay

theasparagusstalksonanopened

fansteamer(oranordinarysteamer

willdo)– theycanbepiledoneon

topoftheother.Seasonwithsalt,

placethemina fryingpanor

saucepan,pourinabout2.5cm

ofboilingwaterfromthekettle,

thenputa lidon and steam for

4-6 minutes.

Servethehotasparaguswithsome

saucepouredover,anddon’tforget

tohavefingerbowls and napkins

at the ready.

Recipe:©DeliaSmith1993,Delia
Smith’sSummerCollection,published
byBBCBooks.FormoreDeliarecipes
andcookeryschoolvideos– including
howtomakefoaminghollandaise –
PORTRAIT: visit deliaonline.com.

TREVOR

LEIGHTON.

FOOD

PHOTOGRAPH:

MAJA

SMEND.

FOOD STYLING: KATY MCCLELLAND. STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON