Spring is a great season because it gives us numerous succulent and healthy vegetables such as asparagus. My favorite pairing is asparagus with eggs, though I have to admit that asparagus with fish are a fantastic pair as well!! I would use tons of them with every dish, but the rules of aesthetics require me to be a bit “thrifty” .. So I’ve decided to put six asparagus on each plate. The fish must be filleted properly and cooked for a few minutes per side. It must have a beautiful golden and crispy skin. Finally the aioli sauce is one of the few sauces that could accompany this dish because it contrasts the delicacy of vegetables and of fish with its strong but never violent flavor.
Serves: 4
- 4 sea bream fillets
- 24 asparagus
- extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- white pepper to taste
- rosemary needles
- sprigs of marjoram
- 2 peeled garlic cloves
For the aioli sauce:
- 2 very fresh egg yolks
- 150 ml sunflower oil
- 4 teaspoons apple vinegar
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
- 1 clove of peeled garlic
- Salt to taste
- white pepper to taste
Method
Bring to a boil salted water. In the meantime wash the asparagus under running water, dry them with kitchen paper, remove the white end part that is the hardest part of this vegetable. At this point, dip them in hot water and cook for about 6-8 minutes at most. Drain. Brush them with extra virgin olive oil and salt lightly. Set them aside. Prepare the aioli sauce. Chop the garlic coarsely with a knife, place it in a high-sided container, add the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and begin to emulsify with an immersion blender. Start pouring the oil flush after a few seconds, always continuing to emulsify. The sauce must be well-mounted, thick but soft at the same time.
Heat the oil over high heat with the garlic cloves and the aromatic herbs. Before laying the fillets on the skin side on the hot pan, you have to salt and pepper the fillets of sea bream. Cook the fish two minutes per side.
Plating
First place the asparagus on a plate, after the sea bream fillet, add a quenelle of aioli sauce and finally decorate with a sprig of marjoram.