(Extra) Well Fed: White Asparagus with Coffee-Soy Sabayon & Toasted Buckwheat

the colorless spring treat, and why sabayon isn't just for desserts

Following up my previous post, this dish would be reallll nice with that spring roast chicken. I’m keeping things short this morning as I sniffle my way through a spring head cold. So it’s asparagus season…white asparagus is, at least for me, a springtime treat (slightly higher price tag, but the buttery, sweet flavor is worth a handful of spears on occasion). And so it should be treated with a bit of tender care and allowed to shine through on the table. I’ve found it a little more accessible in Northern Europe, but I’ve found it for a brief moment at NYC’s greenmarkets and groceries. Even just seared in butter alone, it’s pretty gorgeous. I find that a quick peel of the outer skin and a fast flash in the pan brings out beautiful caramel-like notes, that sweetness really comes right on through. My thoughts wandered over to complimentary flavors, coffee and soy sauce (more ways to use up the last drops of your unfinished morning coffee). Those two base notes are worked into a savory sabayon sauce, which is traditionally a frothy egg yolk custard sauce consisting of yolk, sugar and wine (excellent over summer berries and fruits). But take the sugar out and you can take the sauce into a whole new world of savory delight. The creaminess of egg yolk heated ever so slowly with another liquid like alcohol or dashi becomes a luxuriously light throw blanket over all sorts of foods (grilled vegetables, scallops, oysters, meaty fish like monkfish…). Here, I’ve added some lemon zest to the plated asparagus before spooning over the sabayon for a hit of uplift and some toasted buckwheat for a roasty nuttiness and crunch (interesting fact, buckwheat is actually gluten-free). If you don’t typically have buckwheat lying in the depths of your pantry, crushed toasted almonds or perhaps sunflower seeds could work nicely as well.