NUMBER OF SERVINGS

• Number of servings: 4

COOKING ACCESSORIES

• Oven dish

INGREDIENTS

• 2 kg asparagus
• 450 grams asparagus-potatoes
• 600 grams of chicken or turkey breast (divided into portions, for example 4 x 150 grams)
• 250 grams butter
• 200 ml (single) cream
• 100 ml poultry demi-glace (available ready-made at the supermarket). Glace is reduced stock, read here more about the difference between a stock and a demi-glace)
• 2 eggs
• 1 twig of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
• 1 bottle of beer (a dark ale, like Hertog Jan Grand Prestige, for example)

METHOD OF PREPARATION

• Cut or break off the woody ends of the asparagus (approx. 3 cm).
• Use a peeler to thinly peel the asparagus from just below the tip down to the ends.
• Cook the asparagus and keep them warm.
• Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and the marjoram and pan-fry them until they are light brown all over, but not cooked.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and place in the oven dish.
• Put the poultry demi-glace into the pan that you used to brown the chicken.
• Add the cream and half of the beer.
• Allow the reduce and ‘mount’ * the sauce with dabs of butter.
• Season the sauce to taste with pepper and salt.
• Place the chicken breasts in a per-heated oven (170°C) until they are almost done (approx. 20 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the breasts). Do you have a core thermometer? Then check the temperature in the centre of the breast: the chicken is cooked at a temperature of 75°C).
• Wrap the chicken breasts in aluminium foil and place them back in the dish or on a pre-heated plate and allow them to rest for a few minutes.
• Halve the asparagus-potatoes and boil them until cooked (approx. 15 minutes). Boil the eggs until hard-boiled.
• Divide the asparagus on four plates, cut the chicken breasts in even slices and place them on the asparagus in the shape of a fan.
• Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and serve the rest of the sauce, the potatoes and the eggs on the side.

Enjoy!

* Mounting is a cooking technique for thickening a sauce. The butter must be well-chilled, straight from the refrigerator, and cut into rather small pieces so they can be blended into the sauce easily. Gently stir the butter into the sauce. Heat the sauce at a minimum, to prevent the sauce from separating (do not boil the sauce in any event). Stir in as much butter as you want until the sauce has the desired thickness. Serve immediately and do not allow the sauce to cool too much.