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Asparagus Flemish style

Name: Asparagus Flemish style
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 bunch white asparagus; 20 g butter for the asparagus (a knob); water, a splash; salt and pepper; 4 piece eggs; 100 g butter; 0.5 bunch curly parsley, finely chopped; 1 pinch nutmeg; ground white pepper; a few drops of lemon juice

asperges op Vlaamse wijze / asperges à la flamande

White asparagus cooked in butter and a little water, served under a warm sauce of soft-boiled eggs mashed into melted butter with parsley, nutmeg and lemon. Jeroen Meus's spring classic.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 10 min
Total: 25 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Wide pan with a lid, long enough for the spears
Asparagus or vegetable peeler; small saucepan

Servings4

Ingredients

1 bunchwhite asparagusMeus gives one bunch for 4 as a starter; allow about 4–6 thick spears each as a main.
20 gbutter for the asparagus (a knob)
water, a splash
salt and pepper
Egg and butter sauce
4 eggs
100 gbutter
1 bunchcurly parsley, finely chopped
1 pinchnutmeg
ground white pepper; a few drops of lemon juice

Shopping list

Method

Peel the asparagus from just below the tip downwards and trim the ends level.
Why White asparagus has a tough, bitter skin that must come off completely.
Melt a knob of butter with a splash of water in the wide pan, season, lay in the asparagus, cover and cook 6–7 minutes until just tender. Turn off the heat and keep warm in the pan.
Timer · 7 min7:00
Boil the eggs for 4 minutes 30 seconds. Cool briefly under cold water and peel carefully: the yolks are still runny.
Timer · 4.5 min4:30
Melt the 100 g butter. Mash the eggs into it with a fork and stir over a gentle heat until the yolks just bind the sauce.
Why The runny yolks thicken the butter as they warm, like a rough hollandaise; too much heat scrambles them.
Add the parsley and season with white pepper, salt, nutmeg and a few drops of lemon. Lay the asparagus on plates and spoon the egg butter over.

Substitutions

White asparagus → Green asparagus, which needs no peeling and cooks a little faster.

Common mistakes

Under-peeling: fibrous strings remain.
Overheating the sauce: the egg turns to scrambled egg.

Storage & reheating

Eat at once.

Safety

The eggs are soft-boiled and only gently heated; people advised to avoid lightly cooked eggs should boil them hard (about 10 minutes) and chop them instead.

Allergens

Egg · Milk

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

vegetarian · gluten-free

A Flemish spring dish

Op Vlaamse wijze, in the Flemish manner, means asparagus with eggs, butter and parsley. It is a spring dish for the short season of white asparagus. Jeroen Meus's version is given here.

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Butter and soft eggs

The asparagus is not boiled in a large pot but cooked covered in a little butter and water, so it keeps its flavour. Meus boils the eggs for exactly four and a half minutes so the yolks run, then mashes them into melted butter over gentle heat; the yolks thicken the butter into a coarse sauce.

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