White Asparagus with Butter, Lemon and Bottarga
Rated 5.0 stars by 3 users
Author:
Drogo
Servings
3-4
Prep Time
1 minute
Cook Time
8 minutes
White asparagus with bottarga is a refined Mediterranean-influenced spring dish that lets the season's most prized vegetable take centre plate. This white asparagus recipe sees the pale, milky spears, grown under earth or thick mulch to keep them from greening, gently steamed or boiled until just tender, then dressed in melted butter, a generous squeeze of lemon and a final shaving of bottarga. The cured grey mullet roe brings a clean, salty, faintly oceanic note that lifts the natural sweetness of the asparagus. As a take on white asparagus with butter, it's ready in around 15 minutes from start to plate and works just as well as a delicate starter as it does a side.
Ingredients
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500g white asparagus
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100g butter
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1 lemon
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Grated bottarga
Directions
Step 1, Prepare the white asparagus by removing around ½ inch from the woody end of each spear, then peeling almost to the tip using a vegetable peeler.
Step 2, Cook the asparagus for around 8 minutes in boiling salted water, or until just tender.
Step 3, Melt the butter and serve poured over the asparagus with a wedge of lemon. Grate over as much bottarga as you like.
Recipe Note
About White Asparagus and Bottarga
White asparagus is one of Europe's most celebrated spring ingredients, particularly in Germany, France and the Netherlands, where the short April to June season is treated as a yearly event. Grown under earth or thick mulch to prevent the spears greening, the flavour is milder and sweeter than green asparagus, with a firmer, more tender texture once peeled and cooked.
Bottarga, the dried, cured roe of grey mullet or tuna, is a Sardinian and Sicilian staple with a clean, briny, faintly bitter flavour.
Any bottarga recipe is built around treating this cured fish roe like a Mediterranean answer to parmesan: shaved thinly over the warm asparagus, it finishes the dish with depth without overwhelming the vegetable underneath.
Serving Suggestions
This white asparagus with bottarga recipe works as a starter, a side for grilled fish or chicken, or part of a wider Mediterranean spread with cured meats, taralli and good bread. A chilled glass of dry Italian white wine, a Vermentino or a crisp Etna Bianco, pairs particularly well.
Any leftover bottarga keeps for several weeks in the fridge tightly wrapped, and as a versatile cured fish roe recipe staple, is worth shaving over pasta, soft-boiled eggs or warm potatoes.
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