asparagus Mimosa

These green spears look so beautiful on the table. The combination of the roasted asparagus with the egg flecked on top, finished with the sweet and citrusy flavours of the lemon and basil in the dressing, is so delicious! You can serve this on one or two big platters if you are feeding a large crowd, and the eggs and dressing can be prepared the day before, so it’s quite an easy starter to pull together. serves 4 20 asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed 1tbsp olive oil 2 hard-boiled eggs Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

Juice of 1 lemon 1tbsp finely chopped shallot

1tbsp torn basil leaves 1tsp Dijon mustard A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

80ml extra virgin olive oil 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. 2 toss the asparagus spears in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10min, or roast on a hot griddle pan over a high heat for 5min, turning often so they are evenly cooked.

3 for the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, shallot, basil and mustard together in a small bowl, and season with salt and the pepper. then add the extra virgin olive oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

4 shell and halve the eggs, then push through a medium-mesh sieve into another small bowl, or finely chop.

5 toss the asparagus with 1tbsp of the dressing in a large bowl, then divide the dressed asparagus between four plates. spoon the remaining dressing over the asparagus and sprinkle the egg on top.