Something to get egg-cited about. It doesn’t strike you as the most exciting dish but, believe me, the hazelnut, lemon, and thyme dressing punches above its weight in the taste rankings.  Give this underdog a chance and it will become a regular favourite.

CRISPY EGGS AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

⦁ 5 eggs
⦁ 100ml of white wine vinegar
⦁ 3 bunches of asparagus, thick
⦁ 100g of plain flour, seasoned with salt
⦁ 100g of Panko breadcrumbs
⦁ vegetable oil, for deep-frying
⦁ salt

HAZELNUT AND LEMON THYME DRESSING

⦁ 2 tbsp of sherry vinegar
⦁ 1 unwaxed lemon, zested
⦁ 1 tsp Dijon mustard
⦁ 50ml of hazelnut oil
⦁ 100ml of rapeseed oil
⦁ 1 sprig of lemon thyme, leaves picked
⦁ 50g of hazelnuts, peeled, halved and roasted
⦁ salt
⦁ pepper
Method –
⦁ Bring a large deep pan of water to the boil and add the white wine vinegar. Stir the water around in a swirl before cracking four of the eggs, one by one, as close to the surface of the water as possible. Stir the water carefully to help the eggs form a very round shape. Cook until the white has just set before transferring very carefully into iced water
⦁ Peel a handful of the asparagus spears very thinly lengthways and set aside. Prepare the remaining asparagus by scoring each spear 3.5cm from the base and then peeling up to the score line. Finish by removing all the triangular leaves up to the base of the tip
⦁ To make the dressing, whisk the sherry vinegar, lemon zest and mustard together with a little salt and pepper. Slowly add the rapeseed and hazelnut oil and finish with the lemon thyme leaves and hazelnuts
⦁ Preheat a deep-fryer or deep pan of oil to 185°C
⦁ To coat the eggs, beat the remaining raw egg then remove the poached eggs from the iced water, patting dry. Dust in the flour then pass through the beaten egg before coating in breadcrumbs
⦁ Cook the whole asparagus spears in boiling salted water until just tender, then remove and dress with a little of the hazelnut dressing, at the same time dressing the raw asparagus ribbons. Deep-fry the eggs until golden, then drain on absorbent paper and season lightly
⦁ Arrange the asparagus spears and ribbons on four plates, top each with a crispy egg and drizzle over some more dressing before serving

Equipment needed –

⦁ Deep fat fryer – If not a large pan for deep frying in.
⦁ Potato peeler
⦁ Bowls/pots/pans