Asparagus with Tartare Sauce

 Asparagus with Tartare Sauce

“The people of the Piedmont region are known to be avid gardeners and have various traditional recipes which use fresh produce, and the climate and the soil there is good for a variety of veggies. The Piemontese often dress raw or cooked vegetables with a rich sauce. Here tender crisp asparagus is served with a ‘salsa tartare’ made with hard cooked and raw egg yolks, olive oil, white wine vinegar and mustard, sort of like a mayonnaise, but not like the tartar sauce Americans put on fried seafood. 

You can play around with this recipe by adding a little heavy cream or yogurt to sweeten it a little and use capers or diced pickles or chopped pickled jalapeno or a combination. Simply adjust it to your taste.”

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of asparagus

• 2 hard cooked egg yolks

• 1 raw egg yolk

• ¾ cup olive oil

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• ½ teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar

• 3 teaspoons of finely chopped gherkins, capers, pickled onions or other chopped pickles, well drained.

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or to taste

  
  

Procedure:

Tartare sauce

1. In a medium bowl mash the cooked egg yolks and then add the raw yolk, whisking briskly to thoroughly combine them. Add the olive oil by drizzling slowly while whisking continuously.

2. Wisk in the mustard

3. Wisk in the vinegar

4. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with additional olive oil, mustard, or cream, if needed. 

5. Adjust the salt and then stir in the parsley and pickles.

   
   

Asparagus

1. Wash and trim the asparagus of the woody portions.

2. Steam them  in salted water until they are crisp tender. 

3. Drain them well and place on a plate.

4. Drizzle the sauce over them and serve.

   
   

Buon Appetito!