Butter-fried asparagus with black olive & lemon mayonnaise

The subtle flavour of asparagus works really well with salty pairings, as with this salted anchovy, balsamic and black olive mayonnaise

  • Prep:40 mins
    Cook:15 mins
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 556
  • fat 33g
  • saturates 17g
  • carbs 45g
  • sugars 7g
  • fibre 3g
  • protein 17g
  • salt 1.2g

Ingredients

  • 200g clarified butter (butter from which all the milk solids have been removed)
  • 50g plain flour
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 200g brioche, blitzed into crumbs
  • 16 medium English asparagus spears, bottom of stem peeled
  • Parmesan, grated, to serve
  • 100g stoned black olives (75g whole, 25g chopped)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 salted anchovy
  • 250ml light olive oil
  • squeeze lemon juice
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Tip

Black olive & lemon mayo

Nutrition per tbsp - Kcal 217, Fat 23g, Sats 3g, Carbs 1g, Sugars 0.3g, Fibre 1g, Protein 1g, Salt, 0.2g

Method

  1. First, make the mayonnaise. In a food processor, add the whole olives, egg yolks, vinegar, mustard and anchovy, and blend until you have a smooth paste. Slowly add the oil until it becomes thick and glossy. To finish, stir through the chopped olives, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.

  2. Next, in a pan over a low heat, warm the clarified butter until it melts. Put the flour, beaten eggs and brioche crumbs into three separate bowls. Dip the asparagus stem into the flour, leaving the tip uncovered, then dip it into the beaten egg and finally into the brioche crumbs. Repeat for each spear.

  3. Turn up the heat until the melted butter is hot. Add four spears of asparagus and fry for 1 min or so – it will cook quickly. Use a slotted spoon to lift them onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining spears. After each batch comes out of the butter, grate over the Parmesan. Serve with the mayo.

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