Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes Hugh's asparagus recipe

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Date Published:: 28/05/2008

Hugh spear-heads a twist on a basic asparagus dish in River Cottage Spring

Ingredients

2 large eggs, at room temperature
A dozen slim stems of asparagus, any woody ends trimmed
A knob of unsalted butter
A few drops of cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: How to make Hugh's asparagus

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Carefully lower in the eggs, then simmer them for exactly 4 minutes. Steam the asparagus over the top of the boiling eggs, or cook in a separate pan in boiling water for a couple of minutes. The asparagus should be tender but not soft and floppy.

2. Transfer the eggs to egg cups. Cut the top off each egg and take them to the table with the asparagus. Drop a nut of butter, a few drops of cider vinegar and some salt and pepper into the hot yolk (alternatively, just sprinkle some salt and pepper on the plate), stir with a bit of asparagus, dip and eat.