White Asparagus à la Grenobloise
This simple starter of White Asparagus à la Grenobloise is a French Spring classic. Tender and slightly sweet white asparagus, which are incredibly popular in France, are doused with a tangy Grenobloise sauce of butter, lemon, capers, parsley and crunchy croutons. This delightful dish is on the table in just 20 minutes, making the most of asparagus season. What is a Grenobloise sauce? A Grenobloise sauce, as its name suggests, is a specialty hailing from the French town of Grenoble. This classic French sauce is made of brown butter, lemon,…
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- About 20 white asparagus
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (76g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup cubed day-old bread, such as a baguette, or any French or Italian crusty loaf
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 5 tbsp (about 37.5g) mini capers
- 6-7 sprigs curly parsley, stemmed and chopped.¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Step 1 – Peel the asparagus using a vegetable peeler (see above instructions) and snap the woody ends off the base (about 2 inches).
- 2
Step 2 - Add the asparagus to a pan of boiling water with salt. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- 3
Step 3 – In the meantime, prepare the Grenobloise sauce. Drain the capers and set aside on a paper towel.
- 4
Step 4 – Cut the bread into small cubes. Heat up a large frying pan over medium-heat up with 1 ½ tbsp (20g) butter, the bread and salt. When the butter starts sizzling, continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the bread cubs are golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan. The croutons will crisp up as they cool.
- 5
Step 5 – Add the rest of the butter to the pan, on medium-heat. When it turns “noisette” (see instructions above in the article), turn off the heat and add the lemon juice, zest, capers and parsley. Stir.
- 6
Step 6 – Drain the asparagus and place them onto a serving dish. Pour the butter and lemon sauce over top and sprinkle with the croutons. Season with black pepper and serve immediately.