Recipe: Mayonnaise, with asparagus and poached eggs—a classic sauce and a good way to show it off! [
Homemade mayonnaise really is incredibly easy to make once you know how. As well as being a classic sauce with a thousand different uses, it is completely dreamy and nothing like the kind of stuff that you get in jars. Honestly, try it!
Here's a simple recipe to show it off that works brilliantly as a light lunch or a dinner party starter: mayonnaise with asparagus and poached eggs.
The Recipe (serves 2):
Ingredients:
8-10 (or so) stems of asparagus
2 x eggs
1 x egg yolk
250ml vegetable (or otherwise flavourless) oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsps white white/cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Lemon zest, to garnish
The method:
1. Begin by making the mayonnaise: in a large bowl, combine the egg yolk, mustard and a little salt and pepper with a whisk.
2. Adding literally drop by drop, start adding the oil—beating after every addition. (You can tell that this is best done with an electric beater.) Once the first few tablespoons have been incorporated you can pour the oil as a thin stream until half of the oil has been incorporated.
3. At this point you will have a very stiff and still quite yellow mixture, you can now add all of the vinegar and the lemon juice.
4. Continue adding the rest of the oil as a thin stream, beating all the time. The whole process should take about 5 or 6 minutes.
5. Taste for mustard, acidity and seasoning. The finished product should not be at all oily—it should have a nice shine and be light as a feather with the sort of consistency that just resists dropping off the end of a spatula.
6. Set aside, in an airtight container it will keep happily for about a week.
7. You can now steam your asparagus.
8. Meanwhile, poach your eggs in a pan of boiling, slightly acidic water.
9. To serve, lay the asparagus on a large plate with the eggs on top. Coat the eggs with a generous amount of the mayonnaise and then finish with a grating of lemon zest.
Tips: Reserve the ends of your asparagus, they are tough but are excellent for soups etc.
If you are cooking for a large party, you can poach all of your eggs in advance (this is often what restaurants do), the poached eggs just need warming through with boiling water right before serving.
What to avoid: At no point should you have oil sloshing about in the bottom of the mixing bowl, go slow and beat hard and all will be well.