Easter: holiday menus

Easter: the holiday starters

Asparagus and eggs will be the stars of Easter Sunday. Here are 5 entries to delight the whole family on this festive day!

Green asparagus, egg mimosa

Cooking 10 min. Preparation 15 min

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 asparagus
• 1 half onion
• 2 beautiful spinach leaves
• 1 egg
• 1 C. teaspoon of fresh cream
• About 15 cl of 2nd age milk

Prepare the vegetables: Wash 3 or 4 green asparagus. Remove the end of their stems that are too hard, then peel them. Cut the heads off about 2 cm. Cut the rest of the stems into thin rings. Wash 1/2 stem onion, peel it and slice it. Wash 2 nice spinach leaves, remove the tail and roughly chop them. Steam all these vegetables for 10 minutes.

Prepare the egg: At the same time, cook 1 hard-boiled egg for 10 minutes in boiling water, then cool and peel it.

Prepare the velouté: Place the asparagus heads in a small plate and cut them into very small pieces or mash them with a fork.

Mix the rest of the vegetables with 1 teaspoon of fresh cream and about 15 cl of 2nd age milk.

Finish: Take the yolk out of the hard-boiled egg and cut off a third (keep the rest for another use). Crush it roughly. Pour the asparagus soup into a bowl, add the small pieces of asparagus heads, sprinkle with crumbled egg yolk and a few drops of liquid cream.

Alain Ducasse’s advice: of course, white asparagus is also suitable for this recipe. But a beautiful green velvety and egg yolk, it’s prettier. And the appearance is part of the education of taste.

Paule Neyrat’s advice: A pinch of salt if necessary, but the asparagus / spinach mixture is sufficiently strong in taste so as not to need salt. Adjust the number of asparagus according to their size.

© Nature Bébé published by Alain Ducasse Edition, authors Alain Ducasse, Paule Neyrat and Jérôme Lacressonière. Photographer: Rina Nurra Stylist: Lissa Steeter. Available in bookstores, 15 euros.

Avocado and citrus salad

PREPARATION 15 min, REFRIGERATION 30 min, COOKING 1 min approximately

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons
• 2 avocados
• 2 oranges
• 1 pink grapefruit
• 1 white grapefruit
• 1 small bunch of mint
• 5 c. tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 2 tbsp. pine nuts
• 6 black olives
• salt pepper

Preparation: Squeeze the lemons. Peel the avocados, cut them in half and remove their pits. Cut the flesh into small cubes and sprinkle them with lemon juice. Peel the oranges and grapefruits and separate the pulp from the membrane that surrounds it. Wash and chop the mint. Put it in a bowl, pour in the oil, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Place the avocado and fruit pulp in a large bowl. Drizzle with the sauce and mix gently. Leave the salad in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Dry toast the pine nuts in a pan. Divide the salad between the plates, sprinkle it with pine nuts and garnish with a black olive. Serve immediately.

© Olivier Ploton coll.Larousse (styling Valérie Vermeeren. Recipe extracted from the book Petit Larousse cuisinier, Larousse editions.

Avocado salad with crab

FOR 4 PEOPLE, PREPARATION 30 min

Ingredients:

• 15 cl of mayonnaise
• Cayenne pepper
• 250 g canned or frozen crab
• 2 lawyers
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• pink berries
• 1 half bunch of dill
• salt pepper

Preparation: Mix the mayonnaise with 1 pinch of cayenne pepper. Crumble the crab meat, removing the cartilage. Open the avocados, take the pulp with a spoon, cut it into cubes and lemon it; add salt and pepper. Mix the mayonnaise with the crab meat, then gently add the avocado cubes. Divide everything into cups, sprinkle with a few crushed pink berries. Wash then wring out the dill and cut it with scissors above the cups. Serve well chilled.

© Guillaume Czerw coll.Larousse (styling Alexia Janny). Recipe extracted from the book Petit Larousse cuisinier, Larousse editions

Asparagus velouté, pepper whipped cream

FOR 4 PEOPLE, PREPARATION 20 min, COOK 15-20 min

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of green asparagus
• 10 cl of fresh cream
• 75 cl milk
• 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 C. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. hazelnut oil
• salt pepper

Preparation: Cut off the hard end of the asparagus and scrape the stems with a Thrifty knife. Cut the tips to 3 cm and the stems into slices. Steam the tips for 4 or 5 minutes and set them aside. Put the cream for 10 minutes in the freezer in a small bowl. In a saucepan, boil the milk with 1 pinch of salt. Dip the asparagus slices in and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until tender. Pepper, add chilli and nutmeg and mix for 2 or 3 minutes to obtain a very smooth mixture. Transfer to another saucepan through a fine strainer. Dissolve the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and pour it into the saucepan. Gently bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until you obtain a smooth creamy texture. Take the cream out of the freezer and whip it into a firm whipped cream, seasoning it lightly. Pour the velouté into four bowls and place the whipped cream in large clouds on the surface. Distribute the asparagus tips and garnish with cracked pepper. When ready to serve, sprinkle it velvety with a few drops of hazelnut oil.

© Olivier Ploton coll.Larousse (styling Valérie Vermeeren. Recipe extracted from the book Petit Larousse cuisinier, Larousse editions.

Risotto with beans and asparagus

FOR 4 PEOPLE, PREPARATION 10 min, COOKING 25 min

Ingredients:

• 8 green asparagus, fresh or frozen
• 200 g of peeled broad beans, fresh or frozen
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 onion
• 2 c. tablespoon of olive oil
• 60 g butter
• 200 g of round rice for risotto (arborio, carnaroli, maratelli)
• 10 cl white wine
• 40 g of Parmesan cheese
• salt pepper

Preparation: Immerse the asparagus and broad beans for 5 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain them. Dissolve the bouillon cube in 75 cl of boiling water. Peel and slice the onion. Heat the oil and 30 g of butter in a sauté pan and brown the onion. Add the rice and leave to brown for 2 minutes while stirring. Pour in the wine and then, when it has completely evaporated, add the simmering broth ladle by ladle. Salt if necessary, pepper. Leave to cook for 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and broad beans, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Incorporate the remaining butter in small pieces, sprinkle with parmesan shavings and serve.

© Caroline Faccioli coll.Larousse (styling Sabine Paris). Recipe taken from the book Petit Larousse cuisinier, Larousse editions

Petit Larousse cook published by Larousse editions. Available in bookstores at a price of 24,90 euros. Thank you to Larousse editions for their collaboration.

www.larousse-cuisine.fr