Asparagus with Poached Egg and St Nectaire Fermier

Asparagus with Poached Egg and St Nectaire Fermier

Asparagus season is upon us, and will last for about 6 weeks from now! If you find exceptionally fresh asparagus on a farmer’s market, I will not blame you if you simply boil them for 4 to 8 minutes (depending on their thickness), and serve them with a little melted butter or olive oil, salt and pepper. But this recipe, while still requiring you to choose this fragile vegetable carefully, as well as finding very fresh free range eggs and a good, ideally unpasteurized St Nectaire cheese, is currently my favourite way to enjoy asparagus season to it’s full. I picked it up from a small restaurant in a non-touristic part of Paris about 5 years ago, and have been making it every asparagus season since. This is a perfect light meal. Have it on it’s own for dinner, or with a little fresh or toasted Campaillou (or any rustic) bread for lunch.

Alternative versions: Coming soon

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients Budget: £2-3 per person

Calories per serving: 184 Kcal

5-a-day per serving: 3

Macronutrients (per person, in grams):

Carbohydrate (sugars): 6 (1.5)   Protein: 15   Fat (saturates): 13 (6)

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

Fine to medium green asparagus (2 or 3 bunches = 600g)

Large free-range eggs (4)

Saint-Nectaire Fermier cheese (100g)

Fresh Pepper

Maldon sea salt crystals or fine fleur de sel

PREPARATION:

1. Fill a large saucepan (5 liters) and a medium saucepan (3 litres) with water, and heat them at your hob’s maximum setting

2. Rinse, trim the bottom part of the asparagus stems, eventually use a peeler or a sharp utility knife to remove any hard bits on the bottom of the stems.

3. Break the eggs into 4 small ramekins (or small cups). If possible place 4 plates into the your oven at 50°C / 120°F.

4. When the water is boiling in the medium saucepan, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Add 1 large tablespoon (15ml) of vinegar and a pinch of sea salt to the water.

5. When the water in the large saucepan is boiling, drop the asparagus and boil for 4 to 8 minutes (depending on the thickness of the stems).

6. While the asparagus is boiling, there should be time to poach 2 of the 4 eggs. In order to make a nice poached egg, a good trick is to create a swirl in the simmering water just before carefully dropping the egg into the saucepan. Cook each egg for 2 minutes before taking it out (you can keep them in the ramekins used previously).

7. When the asparagus is cooked through but still firm, drain the water out, and leave them in the saucepan, covered. Poach the 2 remaining eggs.

8. Dispose the asparagus in 4 equal portions on the plates, add a little pepper and salt, dispose 1 poached egg on top of each asparagus serving, and cut very thin slices of the st nectaire and also dispose them on top of the asparagus so they can melt a little. Done.

St Nectaire Fermier

Organic eggs from farmers market

Asparagus season at farmers market

Tuna Pasta

This recipe originates in a simple preparation of tuna and onion pasta my mother picked up in Rome, Italy, when we were living there in the mid-80s. I have prepared many variations of it since the age of fourteen. I like this version as it has a really nice depth of flavours. The key here is to respect proportions and to make sure the red onion gets a little bit burned on the edges before you reduce the heat and add the tuna. I also find that drizzling a little really nice extra virgin olive oil over the plates makes a big difference.

I sometimes find myself cooking this pasta more than once during the same week. It is an extremely convenient mix of ingredients, easy to find in all seasons, and surprisingly delicious while taking only 30 minutes to prepare. It is also one of my favourite foods after a hard workout, and despite the relatively high number of calories in it, it represents an amazingly balanced dietary intake.

Alternative versions: Coming soon

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients Budget: £1.85-2.75 per person

Calories per serving: 735 Kcal

5-a-day per serving: 1

Macronutrients (per person, in grams):

Carbohydrate (sugars): 96 (9)   Protein: 36   Fat (saturates): 22 (4)

INGREDIENTS (serves 4): Click HERE for shopping list

Extra virgin Olive Oil (45ml / 3-5 tablespoons)

Dried crushed chili (0.33 g / 1/4 teaspoon)

Red onions (350 g / 3 mid-sized)

Canned tuna steak in olive oil, drained (300g /1 large, or 2 medium cans)

Lemon Zest (of 1 medium, unwaxed organic lemon) – OPTIONAL

Coarse sea salt (50g)

Fusilli Pasta (500g / 1 standard pack)

Black Pepper from a grinder

Flat Leaf Parsley (30g / 1 small bunch)

PREPARATION:

1. Fill a Large (at least 5 litres) saucepan with cold water (ideally filtered) and the coarse sea salt. Cover and heat it at the maximum setting of your hob. To save time, I recommend pouring only half the water, and then just before it boils, pouring the other half.

2. Peel the onions and place them on a chopping board. Drain the oil from the tuna can(s). Wash and dry the parsley. Grate the zest of the lemon (Optional). If you are adding lemon zest, you can squeeze the juice of half the lemon into the heating water. If you’re curious to know why, the answer is on page 576 of this amazing, if somewhat nerdy, book.

3. In a large and deep non-stick frying pan, heat 30ml (2-3 tablespoons) of the olive oil at medium heat and add the dried crushed chilli. If possible, place 4 deep plates in your oven at 50°C / 120°F

4. Cut the onions into long thin slices and tip them into the frying pan. Stir regularly until they are slightly coloured.

5. Reduce the heat under the frying pan to very low, and add the tuna steak. Break it up so it mixes well with the red onion. If desired, add the lemon zest. Stir occasionally.

6. When the water is boiling, add the pasta. Once the water resumes boiling, reduce the heat very slightly (make sure it still boils). Stir occasionally until pasta is cooked through. Note that with this quantity of water, you will probably need to cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the manufacturer’s recommendation to keep it “al dente”.

7. Drain the pasta water and tip the pasta into the frying pan. Add most of the parsley (torn or chopped) and a little freshly ground black pepper and mix until all the pasta is coated with the tuna, onion and parsley.

8. Serve in the (ideally warm) deep plates. Drizzle the remaining olive oil, and add the remaining parsley on top of each serving. Enjoy!