Gribiche salad with asparagus and tarragon

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Gribiche salad with asparagus & tarragon

Ingredients

Serves 2 3 organic, free-range eggs

(4 if you’re hungry) 1 bunch Suffolk asparagus 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp baby capers 10-12 cornichons

For the dressing: 2 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tbsp kefir 1 tbsp white wine vinegar Pinch of salt 10 g tarragon leaves

(1 supermarket pack once leaves have been stripped from stalks) 10 g parsley leaves

(½ supermarket pack) Simple, outrageously tasty, and bang in season. Here’s a rather fancy - though speedy to prepare - spring lunch to enjoy, again and again.

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over a medium heat with the lid on. Once simmering, submerge the eggs and set a timer for 5 minutes. Remove the tough final inch off the end of the asparagus spears, and once the timer goes off add the asparagus to the simmering water for 1 minute only. Then drain both the eggs and the asparagus before peeling the eggs under gentle, cold-running water and set aside.

Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender or a Nutribullet and whizz until smooth and creamy. Note: if your blender is very large, try doubling the recipe so there’s enough bulk for the blender to do its job. Leftover dressing will last 4 days in the fridge.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in your smallest saucepan. Give your baby capers a good squeeze in kitchen paper to remove excess moisture then fry on a high heat for 3 minutes until puffedup and crispy. These will add fantastic texture to the overall salad. Chop your cornichons into thin rounds and roughly chop your eggs.

To assemble, just pop the asparagus on a serving plate and top with the chopped eggs. Scatter over the diced cornichons and bathe everything in the creamy tarragon dressing. Finally, scatter over those delightfully crispy fried capers. A few extra herbs look pretty on top if you wish, but flavour wise these aren’t needed - it’s all there! Tuck in!

We love this gribiche with toasted rye bread and a drizzle of olive oil.