Brief & Glorious

Chantelle Nicholson has spent her career proving that beautiful cooking and responsible sourcing are the same thing. A dear friend, who shares our ethos, for this TSE we asked her for a singular recipe that represents our spring theme. Enjoy!

—

Whilst the asparagus is the star of the show here, the watercress dressing is a knockout component that can be used in a multitude of ways. So this makes a little extra for that very reason! Also, if you have any old bagged salad leaves these can also be used up this way.

Serves 4 as a small starter

1 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off

For the purée:

200g watercress

25g Dijon mustard

200g rapeseed oil/ olive oil

20g dark brown sugar

10g salt

150g shallots (banana are easier to dice) or red onion

150g malt/apple cider/white wine vinegar

200g old bread, blended to coarse crumbs

30g butter or olive oil

½ tsp flaked sea salt

Start with finely dicing the shallots or red onion. Rinse well in a colander. Bring the vinegar to a rapid boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the diced shallot or onion. Leave to sit for 10 minutes then transfer to a shallow container and refrigerate until cold.

For the crumbs, heat the butter or oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the bread and salt and keep moving to get an even colour. Toast until golden then remove from the pan.

Pop everything for the purée into a small blender. Strain off the shallots and add the vinegar to the blender. Blend until almost smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add the shallots.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Blanch the asparagus for just over a minute. Drain off.

Serve the asparagus dolloped with the watercress dressing and with the toasted crumbs on top.