Pea and lovage croquettes with asparagus tips and herb salad
Lovage adds an intense celery-like flavour to dishes and is featured here in the croquettes and in the salad.
Ingredients
For the asparagus
For the croquettes
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú peas
- 25g/1 oz lovage, roughly chopped
- 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú butter
- 1 tsp crushed pink peppercorns
- 175g/6oz flour
- 1 tbsp white wine
- 30g/1oz Comte cheese, grated
- 30g/1oz feta, finely crumbled
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú panko breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil, for greasing and frying
For the herb salad
- handful lovage
- handful sorrel
- 50ml/2fl oz rapeseed oil
- 1 lemon, juice only
- handful wild garlic flowers, to garnish
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- handful broad beans, podded
- 2 tbsp pea shoots
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú soured cream, to serve
Method
For the asparagus, bring 400ml/14fl oz salted water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the asparagus and cook for 3–5 minutes, or until just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool slightly. Reserve the water in the pan. Discard the woody stems and chop the remaining stems into small pieces. Place the tips in a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice and oil.
For the croquettes, bring the asparagus water back to the boil and add the peas. Cook for 1 minute then add the lovage. Cook for 30 seconds. Reserve 50g/1¾oz of the peas and some of the cooking water. Blitz the rest of the peas and lovage in a food processor.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and stir in the peppercorns. Gradually stir in 60g/2¼oz of the flour and cook for a few minutes until the mixture has thickened and is smelling nutty. Add the wine and a splash of the vegetable cooking water and cook for about 3 minutes, or until thickened and a roux is created.
Stir the cheeses, lemon zest, asparagus pieces, blitzed pea mixture and the reserved whole peas into the wine roux. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Place the remaining flour, egg and breadcrumbs onto three plates. Using oiled hands, form the roux into croquette shapes and dip in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs to coat completely. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the croquettes for 3–5 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
For the salad, place the lovage, sorrel, oil and lemon juice in a salad bowl and stir to combine.
Spread the soured cream on four plates and top with the croquettes. Scatter over the salad and asparagus tips. Garnish with the wild garlic flowers and pea shoots and serve.