Elegant and indulgent. This is the perfect starter for any dinner party.

  • Serves: 4 people
  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cooking time: 30 minutes
    • Irish

    Chartreuse of Asparagus & Leeks

    Recipe Information

    Ingredients
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    For the leeks

    3 medium Leeks

    Salt and White Pepper to taste

    For the mousse

    12 spears of pencil Asparagus

    1 Chicken Breast

    2 Eggs

    60ml Cream

    Salt and pepper (approx. 3 pinches of salt, 2 pinches of pepper)

    For the sauce

    Juice of 1 Pink Grapefruit

    Juice of 2 Limes

    Juice of 2 Oranges

    Juice of 1 Lemon

    2 Shallots, finely diced

    Salt and Pepper to taste

    225g Butter. (in cubes and at room temperature)

    For the garnish

    2 Asparagus spears, split in half lengthways

    Method

    Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas Mark 2.

    For the leeks

    Line 4 ramekins with cling film leaving some cling film hanging over the edge.

    Trim the leek roots and then split the leeks in half lengthways. Use the white and the lighter green, discarding the darker green end. Trim the leeks into 10cm long pieces and separate the light and dark strips.

    Put a pot of salted water on to boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Using kitchen tongs, drop the leek strips into boiling salted water for 20 seconds then remove and put into the bowl of iced water. Pat dry with paper towels. Line the ramekin or mould now with the leek strips, alternating dark and bright strips, making sure part of the leeks hang over the edge of the ramekins.

    For the mousse

    Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Trim the woody ends from your asparagus and drop your asparagus into the boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and place into iced water.

    Cut the tips off and reserve for garnish. Slice up the remainder of the stem. Reserve. In a food processor add the chicken breast and blend. Season the chicken breast. Then add 1 egg, 1 egg yolk and cream. Blend into a fine purée/mousse. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and into a bowl. Now fold in the asparagus pieces.

    Spoon the mousse into the leek-lined moulds and close in the top with the overhanging leek slices.

    Now press in the overhanging cling film layer and set into a deep ovenware dish.

    Add warm tap water to the oven dish until it comes to just over half the height of the ramekins. Carefully place in the pre-heated oven for approximately 30 minutes.

    For the sauce

    Add all the juice and shallots to a pot and reduce by slightly more than half and boiling hot. Add the butter in knob by knob whisking as you add it. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce through a sieve and into a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

    To serve

    Add 2 spoons of the sauce to the centre of a serving plate. Turn out the baked chartreuse onto a separate plate then set on the sauce. Top with a little more sauce and garnish with the asparagus tips.