The first time I ate asparagus the correct way was as a student in Paris in the 1960s. Whenever I had lunch with Renée and her husband, Camille Dreyfus, a doctor who was the physician to Charles de Gaulle, I was confronted with the complexities of elegant French dining. Luckily, their butler, probably having pity on me, helped me navigate the many knives and forks, finger bowls, doilies, etc. Because a huge flower arrangement usually sat at the center of their round table, I couldn’t see how the Dreyfuses ate . . . and, fortunately for me, they couldn’t see how I ate. Once, during the asparagus season, the butler served me white-asparagus spears, which I ate with my fork, cutting them as daintily as I could. To my surprise, Dr. and Madame Dreyfus, the most proper people I knew in Paris, gingerly ate the spears, one by one, with their fingers. They then washed their hands in the finger bowls. Years later, I ate dinner in Strasbourg at the home of Pierre and Martine Bloch at the start of the local asparagus season. The minute I entered their apartment, I could smell the asparagus being steamed in the kitchen. Then Martine shared her trick for cooking white asparagus: put a little sugar in the water, to bring out the flavor.
Recipe information
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
MOUSSELINE
Preparation
Step 1
Snap the ends off the asparagus. Then, using a vegetable peeler, peel about 2 inches off the thickest part of the stems.
Step 2
Bring a big pot of water, with the salt and the sugar, to a boil. Drop in the asparagus, and cook for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness. Pierce with a fork to see if they are tender; white asparagus should be cooked softer than green asparagus. Drain, and set aside.
Step 3
Meanwhile, to make the mousseline, separate the egg, and put the yolk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the mustard, red-wine vinegar, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, gradually drizzle in the oil until it emulsifies and you have a thick, creamy mayonnaise.
Step 4
Beat the egg white to stiff peaks. Mix half of the beaten egg white into the mayonnaise, then gently fold in the other half to make a very fluffy mousseline. Serve the hot asparagus with the mousseline on the side.
