Asparagus is the highlight of spring, and it isn’t officially asparagus season until I’ve had it the best way possible: blanketed in tangy, buttery hollandaise sauce. The problem is, hollandaise is a bit of a faff, as the British say. Made the traditional way, the French sauce is made by cooking egg yolks and lemon juice very gently over a double boiler while gradually whisking in hot clarified butter.
I’ve been cooking for 30 years, and so far I have managed to avoid buying a purpose-built double boiler saucepan setup. In the past, I made do by balancing a metal bowl precariously over simmering water and praying that the whole setup didn’t tip over as I whisked or that the sauce didn’t get too hot … in other words, it was a nerve-wracking pain in the patoot.
Imagine my giddy joy when I stumbled across Ina Garten on the Food Network making asparagus with hollandaise without a double boiler or a whisk! Ina makes the famously fussy sauce incredibly easy by using a blender to make the sauce and the oven to roast the asparagus, making one of my favorite dishes much more approachable and stress-free.
How to Make Ina Garten’s Roasted Asparagus with Blender Hollandaise
Ina starts the hollandaise by putting room-temperature egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and a few pinches of cayenne in a blender and blending them for 15 seconds. The acidity of the lemon juice helps stabilize the sauce, so it creates a smooth emulsion once you (slowly) add melted butter, and it also lightens the flavor of the rich fat-on-fat sauce.
Once the egg yolk mixture is well blended, Ina takes the center part out of the lid of the blender and, with the machine running, gradually pours melted butter in to create a thick sauce that is the buttery apogee of vegetable adornments. While the sauce is best served right away, she says it can stand at room temperature for up to an hour. A tablespoon of hot water added to the sauce right before serving can help rewarm it.
While the sauce is being made, Ina roasts olive oil-slicked asparagus in a 400°F oven on a baking sheet. It’s a quick and hands-off way to cook asparagus that is foolproof, too. I love the way the dry heat of the oven intensifies the flavor of the asparagus and lets me focus on the sauce without worrying about a boiling pot of water.
Simply Recipes / Ivy Manning
My Tips for Making Ina’s Roasted Asparagus with Blender Hollandaise
Like all Ina’s recipes, her hollandaise calls for extra large eggs. Since I never have those on hand, I use standard large eggs with no trouble at all. Ina’s recipe also makes enough to serve eight, but since I rarely need that much sauce, I halve the recipe with great results.
I also substitute black pepper with white pepper. It’s a rule I learned in culinary school—light colored sauces should be seasoned with white pepper because it’s virtually invisible; black pepper shows up as distracting black flecks in the otherwise pristine yellow sauce. Ina likes a lot of pepper, but I add just a few pinches.
Ina seasons the sauce with a few pinches of cayenne, which gives the hollandaise a subtle pop of flavor and cuts through the richness. I always taste the sauce, and if I want a bit more heat, I’ll add a few pinches of cayenne or hot paprika on top of the finished dish for a little more oomph and visual appeal.
Since this sauce is all about the butter, I use the best unsalted butter I can find, usually Kerrygold or a cultured European-style butter like Président. The splurge is worth it for this decadent dish. Ina melts her butter in a small saucepan on the stove, but I find it easier to melt the butter in a small glass measuring cup with a spout in the microwave. The spout helps direct the butter more slowly and steadily into the blender. Be sure to let the butter cool from piping hot to very warm, or you run the risk of breaking the sauce.
Speaking of the blender, be warned that the sauce will spatter as the butter is incorporated into the egg yolks. To keep the splashes of hollandaise off you and the kitchen walls, it’s a good idea to lift the clear center part of the blender lid only halfway, just enough space to drizzle the butter in and keep the sauce from escaping as it whizzes around in the blender jar.
As for the roasted asparagus, I recommend checking the spears after they’ve been roasting for about eight minutes. The size of asparagus stalks varies as widely as individual tastes do. I lean towards lightly roasted asparagus that’s still crisp-tender when bitten into, while my husband prefers his stalks to be well done. Check your asparagus early and often and pull it out of the oven when it reaches your preferred doneness; don’t get too attached to Ina’s timing parameters.
The resulting dish of earthy, grassy-tasting asparagus spears blanketed in silky, tangy hollandaise sauce is one of the best parts of spring. Thanks to Ina, it’s also a dish I can make without stress or investing in any special equipment.
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