Elegant and indulgent. This is the perfect starter for any dinner party.
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
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas Mark 2.
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.
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.
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.
