Spargelcocktail

from Spargel einfach Spitze

While he was writing Spargel einfach Spitze, Peter Bührer asked many famous chefs for their favourite asparagus recipes. One of them was Anton Mosimann.

At the time (1985) Mosimann had already acheived a lot. He received his head chef certification at the tender age of 25. Three years later, in 1975, he became head chef at London’s exclusive Dorcester Hotel. He would go on to open his own private dining club in Belgravia in 1988 and become a legend in the UK, receiving a royal warrant in 2000.

He has cooked for four generations of the British royal family—including the evening reception of Kate and Williams wedding—plus a handful of American presidents and UK PMs too.

In this recipe, Mosimann suggests using Cointreau in the sauce. Later he would become known for his Cuisine Naturelle, even writing a book about his new food philosophy in the same year, 1985. This kind of preparation avoided the use of butter, oil, and alcohol in favour of lighter ingredients.

Spargelcocktail

24 asparagus spears, steamed

400 g prawns/shrimp, cooked and peeled

2 oranges, filleted

Sauce

2 tbsp orange liqueur

100 ml mayonnaise

3 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp each orange and lemon juice

100 ml cream, lightly whipped

pinch cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

Whisk together the orange liqueur, mayonnaise, ketchup, orange zest, orange and lemon juice. Lightly mix in the whipped cream and season with cayenne, salt and pepper.

Gently mix together the asparagus, shrimp and oranges and arrange in four coupe glasses. Spoon the cocktail sauce over top.

• To make the sauce, I simply put all the ingredients into a jar, tightly screwed on the lid and then shook until everything was combined.

• Mosimann suggests using four giant prawns to ‘garnish’ the cocktail, rather than mixing them in. Instead, I used regular shrimp. Either way, it’s about 100 g of shrimp per person.