Roasted Asparagus with a Lemongrass, Ginger and Tea Vinaigrette

Name: Roasted Asparagus with a Lemongrass, Ginger and Tea Vinaigrette
Yield: Serves 4 as a starter
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil; pinch of sea salt; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 1 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar, or other white wine vinegar; 1 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar, or other white wine vinegar; 75 ml strong black tea, strained; 2 tbsp lemon juice; finely pared zest of 1 lemon; 1 tbsp lemon verbena tea leaves; 3 cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated; 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed and finely chopped; 30 g butter, chilled and thinly sliced; 8 long bay leaves; 8 long thyme sprigs; sea salt and black pepper; sea salt and black pepper; 2 bunches of English asparagus, about 500 g in total

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a starter

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Maze

By Jason Atherton

Published 2008

About

Ingredients

2 bunches of English asparagus, about 500 g in total
sea salt and black pepper

Starter
Gluten-free
Vegetarian

Method

For the asparagus, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and have ready a bowl of iced water on the side. Meanwhile, trim the woody bases of the spears and peel the lower ends of the stalks. Add to the boiling salted water and blanch for 2–3 minutes until just tender. Immediately refresh the asparagus in the iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.