How to make a warm asparagus, quail egg & smoked salmon salad with hollandaise dressing
This simple salad is elegant enough to serve at your next dinner party. The super quick ‘cheat’ hollandaise dressing means it can be prepared in under 15 minutes. Minimum effort, maximum impact!
Ingredients (serves 3 as a starter)
12 quail eggs
300g smoked salmon
300g fine asparagus spears
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of one large lemon
Small jar (165g) hollandaise sauce
White wine vinegar (optional)
Lemon cheeks to serve
Method
If you have refrigerated your quail eggs, take them out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before to bring them to room temperature. Putting any eggs straight from the fridge into boiling water may make them crack, but quail eggs are so much more delicate so this is a must.
Fill a small bowl with ice, top up with cold water and put to one side.
Half fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add a large pinch of salt. Get a timer ready for 3 minutes then lower the eggs into the water with a slotted spoon. Don't overcrowd the saucepan, it is best to cook them in two batches if your pan is too small. Immediately start your timer. Three minutes will give you a soft boiled egg, two-and-a-half minutes will ensure it is runny and four minutes will give you a hard-boiled egg. When the time is up, remove your eggs with the same slotted spoon and plunge them in to the prepared ice water. Leave for 20 seconds, this will be enough to stop the cooking process. Remove the eggs to a plate and carefully remove the shells, this will be easier when the eggs are still a little warm. Leave to one side.
Snap off the woody, inedible base of each asparagus spear and chop the remainder into bite-sized pieces. Put into a bowl and add the rapeseed oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice (keep the zest as a garnish) and mix well to coat all the asparagus.
Heat up a griddle pan until very hot. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to the griddle pan, reserve the lemon and oil mixture in the bottom of the bowl. The lemon juice on the asparagus will caramelise quickly so move them around every now and again. They should only need about 3 minutes to cook through, more if your asparagus is thicker.
Mix the jar of hollandaise sauce into the reserved lemon and oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If you want your dressing a bit runnier, add a dash of white wine vinegar or water, adding more lemon juice will make it too lemony.
Tear the slices of smoked salmon into long thin pieces and arrange on your plate. Tumble the warm asparagus over the salmon. Halve the quail eggs and arrange on top. Drizzle over the hollandaise dressing, scatter the lemon zest and finish with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a lemon cheek on the side.
Find more of Beverley's recipes here. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlechelseakitchen for more inspiration.
