Equipment
Ingredients
Asparagus Base
- 200 g asparagus woody ends, washed
- 500 ml water
- 5 g salt
Vinaigrette Emulsion
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 30 ml fresh lemon juice
- 10 g fresh parsley, leaves and tender stems
- 5 g fresh chives
- 5 g dijon mustard
- 1 garlic
- 2 g salt
- 1 g black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 96 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- 2 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 348 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 7 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Potassium
- 67 mg
- Calcium
- 11 mg
- Iron
- 0.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 5 mg
- Phosphorus
- 15 mg
- Zinc
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin A
- 19 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 5 mg
- Vitamin E
- 1.7 mg
- Vitamin K
- 37 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.04 mg
- Niacin
- 0.3 mg
- Folate
- 16 mcg
- Water
- 28 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice water bath in a separate bowl.
Add the tough asparagus ends to the boiling water. Cook until very tender, easily pierced with a fork.
Immediately drain the asparagus ends and transfer them into the ice bath to stop cooking and set the bright green color.
Drain the cooled asparagus well. Chop roughly.
In a high-speed blender, combine the boiled asparagus ends, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, chives, Dijon mustard, and garlic. Blend on high until completely smooth and emulsified.
Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl or jar, pressing with a spatula to extract the liquid while leaving behind any remaining fibrous woody pulp. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chef's Notes
- This recipe embraces 'root-to-stem' cooking. Use the tender tops of the asparagus for your main dish and this sauce to dress them.
- If the vinaigrette is too thick, thin it out with a teaspoon of cold water or more lemon juice.
- The flavor improves after sitting for 15 minutes as the garlic and herbs meld.
- For a creamier, vegan-mayo consistency, drizzle the oil in slowly while the blender is running rather than dumping it all in at once.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Color may darken slightly over time due to oxidation.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze in ice cube trays for quick portions.
Troubleshooting
Vinaigrette is stringy or fibrous
Cause: The woody ends were not boiled long enough or the mixture wasn't strained
Fix: Pass through a finer sieve or cheesecloth
Prevention: Boil ends until mushy and always pass through a fine sieve
Sauce color is dull or brown
Cause: Asparagus was overcooked without shocking or the herbs oxidized
Fix: Blend in a handful of fresh raw spinach to restore green color
Prevention: Use an ice bath immediately after boiling; blend herbs at the last second
Cultural Context
This recipe reflects the modern sustainable cooking movement, specifically the 'root-to-stem' philosophy which seeks to minimize food waste by utilizing edible but often discarded vegetable parts. By treating the fibrous asparagus ends with proper technique (blanching and pureeing), a tough byproduct is transformed into a refined sauce.
