Sauce Gribiche on Crisp Asparagus
With the arrival of an early Spring, I’m getting excited about asparagus! And for me, freshly crisp asparagus calls for a Sauce Gribiche. A great classic of French Cuisine, the Gribiche is a flavorsome mayonnaise-style sauce packed with capers, cornichons and fresh herbs. And while still today an utter classic, it is one of those concoctions that’s still hard to put a label on … Is it a sauce? A mayonnaise? A dip? A condiment? A relish? I like to think it can be any of them! (I mean, is…
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 large egg, hard-boiled.1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup canola oil (or grapeseed).1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 cornichon
- 8 to 10 small capers; drained, rinsed, and squeezed dryabout 1/4 cup (gently-packed) mixed chopped herbs; flat-leaf parsley, chervil, and/or tarragonsalt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 bunch of fresh asparagus
Instructions
- 1
For the sauce:
- 2
Peel the egg and separate the egg white from the yolk. Chop the egg whites in tiny cubes. Put the egg yolk, mustard and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle (or a bowl) and mash together until it becomes a smooth paste.
- 3
Transfer to a larger bowl, add the vinegar and then the oil, drop by drop, continuously whisking with a fork as if making mayonnaise. Keep the sauce creamy by adding small amounts of vinegar or warm water, as necessary.
- 4
Finish off the sauce by adding the chopped egg whites, cornichons, capers and chopped herbs. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- 5
For the asparagus:
- 6
Remove the woody ends, by gently bending the end of each asparagus spear until it snaps naturally.
- 7
Add the asparagus to a pan of boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes until bright green, and transfer immediately to an ice-bath. Let sit in the ice-bath for 4-5 minutes, drain and pat the asparagus gently with a paper towel to dry off.
- 8
For serving:
- 9
Arrange the asparagus on a plate and drop the sauce on top by dollops.