Chilled Asparagus Troisgros-Savoy
In the springtime, we can’t get enough asparagus (yep, call us old-fashioned, but we like to stick to the seasons produce-wise). Usually by summertime, we’ve pretty much OD’d.
But recently we stumbled upon a new (to us!) way to serve it that’s absolutely dreamy on a sweltering summer evening: Peeled, simmered, chilled and accompanied by maybe the best asparagus sauce we’ve ever had — also chilled.
We found inspiration for the duo in an old cookbook by superstar French chef Guy Savoy, called Simple French Recipes for the Home Cook. In fact, we found it in the first recipe in the book: Steamed Green Asparagus with Sauce Lauris. Lauris, Savoy explains in a sidebar, is a village in the Southeast of France known for its asparagus. Sauce Lauris — which Savoy makes using raw egg yolks, mustard, oil, crème fraîche, paprika and sherry vinegar — is one he learned to make back when he was an apprentice at the famed Troisgros Restaurant in Roanne, in the Loire Valley. Because Savoy’s method starts with basically making a mayonnaise (combining egg yolks with mustard, then whisking then slowly whisking in oil), our adaptation begins with mayo. Homemade is ideal, but even commercial mayo is good. And the better the sherry vinegar you have (we love the aged ones), the better the sauce will be.
READ: “Easy-to-make homemade mayo unlocks a world of French bistro and American classics”
We’ve sized this for two, but you can easily double or triple it for four or six.
Serves two.
Ingredients
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and bottom halves peeled
Salt
4 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably homemade
2 teaspoons crème fraîche or sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, preferably aged
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
1. Place the asparagus in a large sauté pan with straight sides and fill with well salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to medium and simmer until the asparagus is tender (not crunchy), about 4 minutes for medium spears. You’ll know it’s done when you lift it out of the pan with tongs and both sides flop down a bit — if the spears stay rigid and straight, they’re not yet done. Plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking and chill them down.
2. To make the sauce, place the mayonnaise in a medium-small bowl with the crème fraîche (or sour cream), the vinegar and the paprika, and whisk together until it’s thick, creamy and airy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, or cover both sauce and asparagus and chill until ready to eat.
Chilled Asparagus Troisgros-Savoy
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and bottom halves peeled
- Salt
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably homemade
- 2 teaspoons crème fraîche or sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, preferably aged
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- Place the asparagus in a large sauté pan with straight sides and fill with well salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to medium and simmer until the asparagus is tender (not crunchy), about 4 minutes for medium spears. You’ll know it’s done when you lift it out of the pan with tongs and both sides flop down a bit — if the spears stay rigid and straight, they’re not yet done. Plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking and chill them down.
- To make the sauce, place the mayonnaise in a medium-small bowl with the crème fraîche (or sour cream), the vinegar and the paprika, and whisk together until it’s thick, creamy and airy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, or cover both sauce and asparagus and chill until ready to eat.
