It's asparagus season! The true fifth season for many, judging by the euphoria the first green and white stalks trigger everywhere... We're no exception, and we actually start thinking long in advance about which wine we'll declare asparagus wine of the year: this year it's Camaleaõ , a fabulous Vinho Verde from Portugal. Crisp and light, and a perfect match for this delicious spring vegetable.
Once the wine question is resolved, the next question arises: what should I eat with asparagus? Melted butter, hollandaise sauce, cooked or raw ham? Egg? Pancakes? Our answer is: sardines! And butter!
The combination of green and white asparagus with fine sardines, roasted in Beillevaire's barrel butter with lemon from La Perle des Dieux, was concocted by Thomas Vetter of Sardinen.Bar. I visited him at his shop in Berlin Schöneberg and cooked the recipe with him.
A quick hollandaise sauce was also added, and a quick video was also made. It shows all the steps in fast motion. For those who find that too fast, there's the classic text version a little further down.
Ingredients:
- asparagus
- Sardines in butter and lemon (or with pepper ) from La Perle des Dieux
- butter
- olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- Sugar
- salt and pepper
- potatoes
- eggs
- Herbal essence*: 1 part water, 1 part white wine , 1 part white vinegar , 10 peppercorns, 6 shallots, 6 allspice berries, 1 clove, 1 bay leaf, parsley, tarragon, chervil
- Baked cocktail tomatoes** (optional as decoration): cocktail tomatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper , thyme, garlic, rosemary, powdered sugar.
All ingredients at a glance can be found here .
Preparation:
Green asparagus doesn't need to be peeled, at most it needs a bit of trimming. However, the ends should be trimmed, as they tend to be a bit woody. To keep it nice and crisp, blanch it briefly in boiling salted water and then refresh it in cold water. This way, it retains its beautiful green color.
The white asparagus needs to be peeled and the ends removed. Meanwhile, boil a pot of water with some lemon and orange zest and juice, a pinch of sugar, and salt. Then turn off the heat and cook the asparagus in hot (but not boiling) water, covered with a paper towel. The paper towel prevents the asparagus from floating to the surface. This way, it stays nice and deep in the hot water and cooks evenly. The asparagus is ready when it's al dente. The best way to test this is with a sharp knife.
Potatoes are a great accompaniment to asparagus. The easiest option is boiled or boiled potatoes. Alternatively, you can slice the potatoes, place them on a baking sheet or ovenproof dish, season with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and bake them in the oven until lightly browned.
For the hollandaise sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan and continue cooking until it clears. The whey will then settle to the bottom of the pan and burn. This will give the butter a light brown color and a delicate nutty flavor. Strain the resulting "nut butter" through a sieve (optionally lined with paper towels) to obtain only the clear butter without the burnt whey.
Separate 4 egg yolks from the egg whites and beat the egg yolks with a herbal essence* over a bain-marie until stiff peaks form. Then slowly stir in the clarified butter (do not continue beating). Season to taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The sauce is now practically ready. However, if you want a little more impact (and flavor!), you can transfer the sauce to a cream siphon. This siphoning action oxygenates the sauce, releasing more flavors and not only creates pretty florets on the plate, but also a more intense flavor experience.
Briefly place the closed can of sardines in Beillevaire butter and lemon (the pepper variety also goes very well!) in warm water to melt the butter slightly and make it easier to remove the sardines from the can. Then open the can and pour the contents into a pan. Heat briefly over medium heat with the lid closed. This will ensure the sardines are heated as gently as possible while preserving their skin.
Briefly fry the green asparagus in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Now all you have to do is arrange everything nicely on a plate and don't forget to pour the good sardine butter from the can over the asparagus and sardines!
Bon appetite!
*Preparing the herbal essence: Boil 1 part water, 1 part white wine (ideally the wine you plan to drink), 1 part white vinegar, 10 peppercorns, 6 peeled and finely chopped shallots, 6 allspice berries, 1 clove, and 1 bay leaf. Reduce the heat to one-third. For the last 5 minutes, add the finely chopped parsley, tarragon, and chervil, then strain the essence through a sieve.
**Burp the tomatoes in a pan in the oven at over 200°C, remove them, and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and a little powdered sugar. Then cook in the oven at 180°C. 
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Our wine recommendation: We always recommend Vinho Verde with asparagus. This year's new discovery is the Vinho Verde Camaleaõ , a fresh but not floral creation from the talented young oenologist João Maria Cabral Almeida. Refreshing, mineral, and light, with lovely tension and low acidity, as well as notes of lime and white peach.
Vinho Verde Camaleaõ 2016: the bottle for €7.95 | The 6-pack for €44.00
A nice alternative is the Vinho Verde from Quinta do Ameal or a rosé, for example the Rosé de Provence from Château Margillière . Or – to stay in Portugal – the Dão Rosé by Álvaro Castro !
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The Sardinen.Bar is located at Grunewaldstraße 79 in 10823 Berlin Schöneberg. There, you can enjoy sardines as well as other fine delicacies from Maître Philippe & Filles:
