White Asparagus in a Spicy Coconut Sauce

White asparagus has to be one of my favourite vegetables, but unfortunately it is only available during a short season, which makes it very expensive. The spicy coconut sauce may seem a bit unusual but it is surprisingly good with these tasty spears. Of course green asparagus will also work well with this dish, but if you can hunt the white version down it's worth the effort.

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6 Portions

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Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Sauce

36 thick white asparagus spears, trimmed, ends peeled and sliced in half
400ml coconut milk
1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 to 3cm piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
juice of half a lime
1 tsp caster sugar
2 spring onions finely chopped
maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a moderate-high heat. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute. Stir in the coconut milk, 2 tbsp of coriander and spring onions, leave to simmer for 5 minutes until aromatic. Add the lime juice and sugar, and stir until well combined.
Asparagus: Bring water in the base of a steamer to the boil and place the asparagus in steamer. Leave the asparagus to steam for 3-5 minutes until just tender(more or less dependent on their size), Place the asparagus in the sauce and gently simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining coriander and season to taste. Serve at once.