Rachel Khoo: Griddled asparagus mimosa

I’m celebrating asparagus season with this beauty of a dish. It may seem a touch retro, but I love an egg mimosa and it appears that the rest of the world does, too, and has done for some time. Wikipedia informs me that the devilled egg has existed on menus as far back as Ancient Rome, and is still going strong, with a variety of versions, from the Hungarian, with yolks mashed with soaked white bread and sometimes served baked with chips, to a posher Swedish version that gets a caviar garnish.

Griddled asparagus mimosa

Serves 2

4 medium free-range eggs

1 tsp English mustard

1 tbsp light olive oil or rapeseed oil

½ tbsp white wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 small bunches English asparagus

1 banana shallot

2 tbsp mixed herbs, such as tarragon, parsley and mint

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil with the lid on, then remove the lid and cook for 8 minutes. Discard the water and run the eggs under cold water to cool. Once cool, peel the eggs, separating the white from the yolk into two separate bowls. Mash the yolk with the back of a fork and add the mustard, a pinch of white pepper and sea salt, the oil and vinegar and 1 tbsp of the lemon juice. Check the seasoning and adjust to taste. Grate the egg white with a box grater or Microplane grater.

Trim or snap the ends off the asparagus to remove the tough parts. Rub with a little extra oil. Heat a griddle pan (or barbecue, if you have it on the go) to smoking hot. Add the asparagus spears and griddle for about 2 minutes on each side. Don’t be tempted to move them around as you want them to get dark char marks.

In the meantime, peel and finely chop the shallot.

Lay out the asparagus on a large serving plate. Scatter over the shallot, drizzle with more lemon juice and sea salt. Scatter the herbs over the top. Lay the grated egg white evenly in a line across the centre of the asparagus. Add the yolk mixture in the same fashion. Serve immediately.