Asparagus Mimosa

By amanda • July 24, 2009 • 1 Comments

⎙

Author Notes: This is one of my favorite spring dishes -- blanched asparagus seasoned with olive oil, lemon, coarse salt and pepper, and topped with sieved hard-boiled egg. - amanda

Serves 4

Coarse sea salt
1 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 egg
Extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Maldon sea salt or other flaky sea salt

Fill a large pan with water, season with salt and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Drop the asparagus in the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes, then lift out the spears and plunge them in the ice water. Once cool, dry the asparagus on tea towels.
Boil water again and drop in the egg. Cook for 9 minutes, then let it cool before peeling it.
Arrange the asparagus on a platter. Sprinkle on the olive oil, and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Place the egg in a sieve and use the back of a spoon to mash it through the sieve and over the asparagus. (Hence the name -- the fluffy yellow-and-white sieved egg resembles mimosa flowers.) Finish the dish with a coarse grind of pepper and a dash of salt.