BOUNTIFUL GREENS

“Spring is a great time to think about new recipes and dishes based on what’s in season,” shares Laurent Brouard, the operations and culinary director of modern French restaurant Aether House. This means a lot of fruits, such as melon, grapefruit and strawberry, as well as vegetables, such as beetroot and asparagus, appear on his menu. For the asparagus, he uses the Pertuis, or the Sylvain Erhardt variety, which is sourced from Provence in France, and serves them as plat du jour, or plate of the day, due to their limited supply. While the vegetable can be prepared in various ways, Brouard simply boils the stalks until tender and serves them with a creamy hollandaise sauce made with French butter, egg yolk and a spritz of lemon juice. The chef then showers the dish with freshly shaved black truffles as a finishing touch.