Ep. 1: Cooking with veg I’ve never cooked with before: White Asparagus We stayed at @La Cour de Husson a few weeks ago (gifted stay) and loved every minute. I wanted to say thank you to our hosts Jen, Nick, (and Betty 🐕‍🦺) who cooked us delicious meals all weekend, including a tofu curry, tacos, homemade vegan croissants, cinnamon buns, granola, masala beans on toast, whipped tofu and ‘salmon’ it was truly incredible. Cooking in the gite was like a home from home, the view was so relaxing and I had everything I needed. Jen and Nick have renovated the gite themselves meticulously - you can really see how much thought has gone into every detail. The town of Angouleme itself is beautiful, you can walk, paddle board, enjoy a glass of wine overlooking a beautiful chateux, eat vegan chocolate cake at the local cafe, or enjoy a cocktail at the newly opened bar/music venue. They’re famously always booked up - there’s very little availability for this year, however I am pleased to say that if you fancy booking for early 2025, code SOPH will get you a 10% discount off your booking. (That’s a €227 discount off a weeks stay, with only a 25% deposit needed to secure this). RECIPE: White Asparagus with hollandaise, capers, lemon and garlic 1 bunch white asparagus spears 4 cloves garlic 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp capers + 1 tbsp of their brine Juice of one lemon Hollandaise: 80g soaked cashews 3 tbsp nooch 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp Dijon mustard Pinch of turmeric 1 clove garlic or tsp garlic powder 100ml water, or enough to help it blend to a thick sauce Seasoning to taste To serve: Crispy garlicky breadcrumbs Fresh parsley Method: Peel each asparagus spear, then chop the woody ends and soften in a pan with the olive oil and a large pinch of salt for 3-5 mins. Add the butter and a splash of water, let that all soften for another 5 mins, then add the garlic and cook off until the raw aroma has subsided. Add that capers, the brine, cook that down for a few mins, then taste to see if the spears have softened enough to eat. If not, add more butter and cook them down a little more. When ready, squeeze over the lemon and take it off the heat. The spears should be floppy. In a small blender, blend all the ingredients for the hollandaise sauce together and season to taste. Lay the spears on a plate and pour over the sauce, serve with the crispy garlicky breadcrumbs and optional parsley. — @sophsplantkitchen TikTok