Asparagus with tahini sauce and sesame crackle
Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had always taken the staunch stance that, when it comes to asparagus, “butter is best”. If my chubby spear wasn’t glossy and dripping in butter, it wasn’t a worthy version of such a special, fleeting ingredient, I thought. And while I do stand by this combination, of course, recent dot-to-dotting in my brain and pottering in my kitchen has softened (altered?) my stance.
The dot-to-dotting went a little something like this. It started with the za’atar brown butter recipe that I made over and over again last year. From the za’atar my brain went to sesame, one of za’atar’s key ingredients. From the sesame my brain went to sizzled sesame (more toasty). From the sizzled sesame my brain went to sizzled sesame and almonds (more texture). From the sizzled sesame and almonds my brain went back to the za’atar, wanting some of the brightness and slight fruitiness that the sumac gives the blend, so the sizzled sesame and almonds turned into sizzled sesame and almonds with lemon zest and a big pinch of Aleppo pepper, both of which bloom in the hot oil. And then for the final dot, I went back to the sesame again and decided to double down with a tahini sauce.
Perhaps this mental meandering sounds odd to you, but it made enough sense in my brain to justify forgoing the butter. And after some kitchen pottering, I landed here - asparagus with tahini sauce and sesame crackle. Not a knob of butter in sight. But nevertheless, an equally worthy treatment for those special spears.
Asparagus with tahini sauce and sesame crackle
50g almonds
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 small garlic clove
1 unwaxed lemon
Chilli flakes (I like Aleppo pepper here)
3 tbsp tahini
Large bunch (about 300g) of asparagus
First make the sesame crackle. Roughly chop the almonds and put in a small pan with 3 tbsp olive oil. Fry over a medium-low heat for a few minutes until starting to turn lightly golden then add the sesame seeds and fry for another couple of minutes until both the almonds and the sesame seeds are golden and toasty. Remove from the heat and finely grate in the garlic clove and lemon zest. Add a big pinch of chilli flakes. The garlic, lemon and chilli should immediately sizzle as they hit the hot oil. Stir to combine, season with a pinch of salt and squeeze in the juice of half the lemon. Set aside.
Onto the tahini sauce. Make a glass of ice cold water. In a small bowl, whisk the tahini with the juice of the remaining lemon half. The mixture will seize, thickening to a paste that looks a little like cement. Little by little, slowly whisk in 2-3 tbsp the ice cold water until you reach a creamy, almost fluffy sauce that drops from a spoon but isn’t runny. Season to taste with salt.
For the asparagus, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus then drop into the boiling water. Blanch until bright green and just tender. Timings depend on the thickness of the asparagus: the thinnest spears only need about a minute, maybe even less than a minute; finger-sized spears take about 2 minutes; and the chubbiest of chubby guys can take up to 4 or 5 minutes. The best way to know when they’re tender is, as always, to try one. Once tender, drain thoroughly. Serve straight away on a puddle of tahini sauce with the sesame crackle spooned on top.
Other bits & bobs
Note to self: Spring clean the freezer
Kitchen candles
Bursting with flavors! Love it
This is gorgeous!