Asparagus fonduta
I love asparagus season. Such a wonderful flavour and texture and a great pairing with a poached egg. So how to “FatSteakClub” such an ingredient? Add more eggs, some cheese and you have a rich pasta sauce that can only be improved by throwing in some pancetta (optional of course!). This recipe reaches into the wonderful egg-based book: Egg by Blanche Vaughan. A fonduta is essentially a cheesy custard, and makes a wonderful silky sauce.
Step 1 - Fonduta
Set up a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl over a simmering pan of water) and smear the inside of the bowl with the cut garlic
Add the egg yolks, creme fraiche and Parmesan to the bowl and season to taste
Gently whisk the mixture. It should start to combine and eventually thickens to a custard-like consistency
Set to one side once at the right consistency while you complete the dish
Step 2 - Finish the dish
Gently fry the pancetta until golden
While the sauce is thickening, boil the fresh pasta along with the asparagus in plenty of water (2-3 minutes)
Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving a mug of the cooking water, then return to the warm pan along with the pancetta
Over the a medium heat, toss in the fonduta along with the cooking water until the consistency is creamy and everything is coated
Serve in warm bowls with a sprinkle of extra Parmesan
Ingredients
1 clove of garlic
4 egg yolks
200g creme fraiche
100g grated Parmesan
200g asparagus sliced diagonally into 2-3cm pieces
300g fresh pasta (or better still, make your own using the method here: https://www.thefatsteak.club/blog/shin-ragu)
I trained as a chemist, and now I don't work in a laboratory anymore, I apply that knowledge to my cooking. I do love my gadgets, experimenting and using an understanding of the principles of chemistry to make the very best food. I seem to cook more and more as a hobby now I don't wear a lab coat, and still dream of retiring to run a small restaurant somewhere quiet.
My confidence really came when I taught myself to cook Italian and found I was pretty good at making pasta. I was married to a vegetarian then and it was the one cuisine where I didn't miss meat. I'm big on meat usually and passionate about great ingredients and doing things from scratch yourself. I did a butchery course last year and intend to learn all the skills needed to butcher and make use of a whole pig nose to tail.
Eating out is also a passion, and I particularly like to go for things I don't think I could do at home easily or better! Mind you, I do love a pie.
