The Secret Recipe Club
Gribiche: Sauce gribiche is a mayonnaise-style cold egg sauce in French cuisine, made by emulsifying hard-boiled egg yolks and mustard with a neutral oil such as rapeseed or grapeseed. The sauce is finished with chopped pickled cornichons, capers, parsley, chervil and tarragon. (Wikipedia)
I’ve been a member of the Secret Recipe Club for nearly five years now, mainly in Group D with a short flirtation in Group C, it’s a wonderful way to meet new people, discover new blogs and recipes, and many of the members have become firm on-line friends of mine over the last five years. The club runs like this, think Book Club but with a secret choice element; each month, one member is assigned to another member from their group secretly (hence the name). That person selects a recipe (or more) to make, photograph, and then writes a blog post with the chosen recipe/s being featured. Everyone in the group posts on the same Monday, and then all is revealed, you can see who had your blog and what recipe(s) they chose to make from your recipe collection. It’s a fun, and a great way to get new followers, too. After many happy “reveal days” with Group D, sadly the group was dissolved last month, due to not enough people in the group…….it was sad in a way, but onto pastures new, and I am now a member of Group A, which means lots of new faces to meet and many more recipes to discover, make and bookmark!
My first assignment in Group A is curiously enough with someone I have already met and know very well from before! Susan from The Wimpy Vegetarian is well-known to me, and I love her recipes (and blog), so it’s never hard to choose when I am assigned to her. I made and adapted one of her egg recipes last year, Shirred Eggs over Kale and Garlic with Espelette, and when I was perusing her recipes this time, I again came back to another eggy recipe, one that uses seasonal green asparagus, which was perfect for us, as we had just bought several bunches of fresh asparagus from the local farm shop. Eggs are always a popular choice of ingredient for me too, as regular readers will know, I have my own chickens at the bottom of the garden, and so always have a plentiful supply of golden-yolked free-range eggs at my disposal. The chosen recipe from Susan’s site was Asparagus Gribiche, although I could have chosen EINKORN GARLIC AND PARMESAN ROLLS; VEGETARIAN JAMBALAYA STUFFED RED PEPPERS CASSEROLE; MOSCATO ZABAGLIONE WITH STRAWBERRIES or BREAKFAST EGG STUFFED POTATO SKINS……they all sounded delicious and I have bookmarked them all for future delectation!
Images: The Wimpy Vegetarian
Susan is a mostly (wimpy) vegetarian, and live just north of San Francisco. After three brief years of wedded bliss filled with mustard-garlic crusted pork roasts, hoisin-glazed ribs, and lamb stew, she broke the news to her new husband, Myles, that she wanted to move towards a plant-based diet! How did he take it? Well his initial response was to stock up on T-bones, pork chops, and rib-eyes, he had incisors for a reason, he said! You can read all about how Myles finally managed on Susan’s About Me page, and it makes for humorous and interesting reading! But back to today’s recipe, chosen with seasonal asparagus in mind, as well as my own home-grown eggs, this recipe for Asparagus Gribiche made a wonderful weekend brunch dish about three weeks ago. I am a HUGE fan of sauce gribiche, and use it on poached fish, chicken and with freshly cooked veggies too, so it was in once sense a safe but essential choice for the merry month of May. I had to convert Susan’s recipe from US cups to European metric, and I also subbed a couple of ingredients due to regional differences, but other than that, her recipe is shared below for all to see and enjoy! Thank you Susan, for another inspired seasonal recipe idea! Karen
Asparagus Gribiche Recipe
(Recipe adapted by Susan from The Wimpy Vegetarian)
Ingredients:
Roasted Asparagus:
1 bundle of green asparagus
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Malden sea salt flakes
½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
juice from ½ lemon
Gribiche Sauce:
4 hard-boiled free-range eggs
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon grain mustard
1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon leaves
60 mls extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon Malden sea salt flakes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green tops of spring onions
Method:
1. Roasted Asparagus: Preheat the oven to 210C/425F/Gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Slice off the bottom third of the asparagus where it is woody and discard. Wash, dry, toss them in olive oil and then lay them on the lined baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Roast until soft, about 15 minutes.
2. Gribiche Sauce: Remove the yolk from one of the hard-boiled eggs, and place in a medium bowl. Mash thoroughly with a fork and whisk in the garlic, white wine vinegar, mustard, capers, parsley, and tarragon leaves.
3. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Add salt to taste – you may not need any because of the saltiness of the capers.
4. Lay the roasted asparagus on a serving dish, and drizzle and spoon the sauce over the top.
5. Julienne the remaining eggs and arrange on top.
6. Finish with the green tops of the chopped spring onions.
More Secret Recipe Club Recipes on Lavender and Lovage:
American Diner style Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Raspberry & Maple Granola Yoghurt Pots
Creamy Tortellini, Mushroom and Spinach Soup
Pull-Apart Buttery Garlic Dinner Rolls
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Judee@gluten freeA-Z Blog says
What a perfect recipe to take advantage of asparagus season. Love the ingredients and the presentation. Looks delicious
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Judee, it made a wonderful brunch dish too! Karen
Bakingfanatic says
What a lovely asparagus dish: such a thrilling vegetable that lends itself to so many exciting ways of cooking and serving. I cannot wait to make (and eat!) this.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much – yes, asparagus is a very versatile veggie and I’m loving the season here! Karen
susan | the wimpy vegetarian.com says
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog!! The recipes you generously highlighted are some of my favorites too. And this Asparagus Gribiche is one that I make every spring for parties and always for Easter. I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much. Have a wonderful day, and I’m so so happy we’re in the same Group again 🙂
Karen Burns-Booth says
Yay! Glad to be in the same group again too Susan! And thanks for providing so many inspirational recipes for me to choose from too! Karen
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
Hi Karen! Here we both are in Group A! Yes, you can make friends on the Internet! We can always count on you to make the loveliest of dishes and introduce us to the most gorgeous food!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Karen! It’s lovely to see some familiar and friendly faces here, it’s weird changing groups, it’s online but I feel as if I’ve moved house into a new neighbourhood!!! Hahaha!! Thanks for your lovely comment too, Karen
Rachael says
Wow – that looks incredible! I have never heard of that sauce, but it’s been added to my to-do list!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Rachael! It’s a classic French sauce and is also wonderful with chicken, fish and all veggie dishes too of course! Lovely to meet you through Group A! Karen
SallyBR says
Karen, so nice to have you in group A, as a newcomer to the group myself…
you got pure royalty for your assignment! Lucky you!
Nornally I would have left my comment to your post a lot earlier, but I’ve been traveling the whole day and all I can say is that I am commenting from Hawaii….. can you feel the love?
😉
Karen Burns-Booth says
No rush at all Sally!!!! I left a message in the group by way of a gentle nudge that it would be great to meet any new members in the group, you I know well!!! Hahaha! But, it’s always lovely to see you here and your raspberry buckle is on my list to make soon too, as I have raspberries by the ton in the garden! I love Susan’s blog and her recipes resonate with me on every level, royality indeed.
SallyBR says
Indeed, I’ve been following your blog for a looooong time!
feel at home here, you know? 😉
Karen Burns-Booth says
PS: enjoy Hawaii too Sally! 🙂
Glamorous Glutton says
That looks delicious, in fact I think I’ll make it for supper. The local farm grows asparagus so it really is farm fresh. Perfect. GG
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks GG!This is the perfect supper dish for two, whilst we still have delicious British asparagus on offer, and I think Mr Glam will love it! Karen
Emily @ Life on Food says
I used that sauce once with potatoes. It was delicious. I imagine it would be marvelous with asparagus as well. Glad you found this recipe and shared. Great pick!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Emily – I bet the sauce would be fab on new potatoes too! Karen
Trisha says
Hey Karen, welcome to Group A. I love the sound of this recipe. I’ve never heard of the gribiche sauce before, but it sounds like something I would love. .. and I love asparagus. This is an absolute winner 🙂
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Trisha! I’m looking forward to meeting all of you in group A! Thanks for popping by to comment too! 🙂
Katie Zeller says
I want this….. But it’s going to have to wait until next year as our asparagus season is over. But, I’m guessing it would also be good on green beans? Bookmarked for next season. And welcome to the group!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Katie and yes, do try to remember to make this when the asparagus season comes around again! Karen
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Karen, thank you for introducing me to this beautiful dish, perfect for spring/early summer dinner in the gazebo. Soon. Very soon.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Jean! This is a fab dish for late spring and early summer and the sauce is also wonderful with new potatoes too!
Camilla says
What a fab club and loving this dish which I have never come across before but love the flavour combination here, a great summery dish:-)
Karen Burns-Booth says
Yes, I love being in the SRC and I have met loads of lovely people and have discovered some great recipes too! Karen
Nicole @ Crazed Mom says
Oh my goodness, this is right up my alley. Looks amazing!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Nicole, we all enjoyed it very much and will make it again when asparagus is in season.