Asparagus with Maltaise Sauce

Citrusy maltaise sauce, flavoured with blood orange, is the perfect topping for tender asparagus spears.

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Fresh asparagus spears are a spring time treat. A popular Regency vegetable, asparagus topped with a rich and citrusy maltaise sauce is the perfect spring side dish. Hollandaise is one of the five French mother sauces. Delicious on its own, it is also the base for a variety of other sauces. Maltaise is hollandaise flavoured with the juice and zest of blood oranges. The brief seasonal window where winter citrus fruits overlap with the first of the spring asparagus provides the perfect opportunity to try this lesser known hollandaise derivative.

Ingredient Notes

Asparagus: Cultivated as far back as 3000 BCE, asparagus was as popular during the Regency era as it is today. While there are countless ways to serve this noble vegetable, lightly blanched and smothered in a rich hollandaise is always a favourite.

Blood orange: The addition of blood orange juice is what transforms this hollandaise into its lesser known cousin, maltaise sauce. Native to the Mediterranean, blood oranges get their name from their distinctive crimson colour. Slightly smaller than navel oranges, blood oranges are also sweeter and less tangy than typical oranges with a slight berry flavour and floral notes. If blood oranges are not in season, you can use a regular orange instead.

Unsalted butter: I recommend using unsalted butter to make this sauce. If you use salted butter you run the risk of ending up with an overly salty sauce. By using unsalted butter you can add as much or as little salt as you prefer.

Lemon juice: Blood orange juice is not overly acidic. Adding a bit of lemon juice will ensure enough acid to balance out the rich butter sauce.

How to make Asparagus with Maltaise Sauce

Prep the asparagus

Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the tough, woody ends. For an even more refined look and taste you can peel the ends of the asparagus stalks. Use a peeler to remove about 2 inches of peel from the stalk. Fill a wide, deep skillet with water and place over high heat to bring to a boil.

Clarify the butter

Hollandaise is traditionally made with clarified butter and for good reason – the excess milk in the butter will only serve to dilute the sauce and prevent it from thickening properly. Clarifying butter can be a bit time consuming, but it is worth taking a few minutes to separate off some of the milk.

In a small saucepan melt the unsalted butter. Pour the melted butter into a narrow measuring cup and let sit for a few minutes to separate. Scoop off the white foam on top of the butter – it’s ok to leave some, just try to remove most of it. Slowly pour the melted butter into another container stopping when you reach the milk layer on the bottom. Melt and add more butter to make sure you have at least 1 cup of clarified butter.

Make the Maltaise Sauce

Begin by gathering all your ingredients. Clarify the butter, separate the egg yolks, juice and zest the blood orange. Have a small glass of cold water nearby. Fill a sauce pan with about 1 inch of water and place over medium low heat. Bring to a very gently simmer.

Place the egg yolks into a clean mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the blood orange juice. Whisk together. Place the bowl over the simmering water. Turn the heat down so it is barely bubbling. Whisk the egg yolk mixture constantly.

Continue whisking the egg yolks for 1 minute until they begin to thicken slightly. Begin adding the clarified butter a few drops at a time while continuing to whisk. Slowly drizzle in about half of the butter while whisking.

Pay attention to the sauce as you’re adding the butter. If it begins to look like the butter is separating out from the sauce, quickly add a few drops of cold water and whisk it back together. On the other hand, if the sauce begins to look curdled or like it is going to scramble, remove from the heat immediately and finish making the sauce off of the heat.

Add another tablespoon of the blood orange juice and whisk together. Continue drizzling in the butter, while whisking, until all of the butter has been incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the kosher salt, blood orange zest, and the remaining blood orange juice. Whisk together and taste the sauce. Adjust the seasoning if needed. Set aside while blanching the asparagus.

Blanch the asparagus

Bring the water in the skillet to a boil and add a good amount of kosher salt. Taste the water – it should taste well seasoned. Add the asparagus and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until crisp tender. Remove the asparagus to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Serve the asparagus with maltaise sauce

Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter. Spoon the maltaise sauce generously over the asparagus. Garnish with more blood orange zest if desired. Serve with any extra maltaise sauce on the side and enjoy!

Troubleshooting the Sauce

Making hollandaise sauce, and any of its variations, can present some challenges. Here are a few tips to make sure your maltaise sauce turns out perfectly every time!

Manage the heat

The egg yolks need to be treated delicately. Make sure that the water in the saucepan is only barely simmering – it should not be at a boil. Whisk the mixture constantly while it is on the heat. If the mixture looks like it’s beginning to scramble immediately remove from the heat. Finish the sauce off of the heat.

Avoid separation

If it looks like the butter is separating out from the sauce, then quickly add a few drops of cold water. Whisk in the cold water until the sauce comes together again. Do not add too much water, only a scant teaspoon at a time.

Fix a broken sauce

Sometimes it isn’t enough to add cold water and the sauce breaks anyway. You will know it is broken when the butter separates from the sauce and it looks very oily. It is possible to fix a broken hollandaise. Add a fresh egg yolk to a clean bowl. Slowly whisk the broken sauce into the new egg yolk. This is essentially treating the broken sauce like you did the butter when originally making the sauce.

Reheating

The final challenge that presents itself with hollandaise comes when attempting to reheat any leftover sauce. Reheat too quickly and it will separate. The best method is to use a microwave. Use at least 50% power and microwave the sauce in short 30 second bursts. Let sit for a minute or so between bursts to ensure that it doesn’t get too hot too quickly.

As the sauce warms it may become necessary to whisk in a few drops of cold water to bring it together again. If the sauce does end up separating you can fix it by following the method above.

More Regency Era Food

• Wine and Cheese Toasties
• Sherry Braised Short Ribs
• Creamy Earl Grey Cocktail
• Lavender Cream Scones
• Sally Lunn Buns