I picked this book up mainly because of how weird it was. Recipes based on criminals and other ne’er-do-wells across history? Sure, why not?
What I actually discovered, though, is that the book itself, while giving a few pages of info on the ‘bad guys’ themselves, wasn’t awesome at instructions. That’s why I ended up having to look up a video on YouTube about how to actually make hollandaise sauce.
It’s much easier than I anticipated, though, and this was a really good side dish!
If you wondered, the ‘bad guy’ this one was inspired by was Marie Antoinette. Let them eat cake. . .and asparagus, I guess.
Asparagus with Hollandaise
Makes 4 servings
From Cooking with the Bad Guys: Recipes from the World’s Most Notorious Kitchens
Ingredients
Bundle of asparagus
Olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tsp. water
2 egg yolks
8 Tbsp. butter
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Trim and clean asparagus. Swirl some olive oil in a large pan, and pan fry the asparagus until crisp tender. Set aside.
To make the hollandaise, pour some water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. (This is going to be used as kind of a double-broiler kind of situation, so if you have a double broiler, you can use that instead.) Mix the lemon juice and water in a bowl, preferably not a plastic one. Metal is best.
Either place or hold the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the water touch the bowl, and add the egg yolks and 1 Tbsp. butter. Whisk thoroughly until very stiff. This will take a few minutes.
Once stiff, remove the bowl from the heat and add the remaining butter in small chunks, whisking as you go.
Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper and pour over asparagus.
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