The holy trinity of spring veg; fiddleheads, ramps and asparagus, all call out for butter. To wit, beurre blanc aka butter sauce, and plenty of it!
With the success of HBO’s Julia we are inspired by the legacy of the French Chef, and naturally beurre blanc is top of mind. It’s the best time of year to drizzle every living thing in this classic butter sauce.
As Francis Lam says in Food52 of the classic sauce, “You make this sauce with enough tart ingredients to counteract the richness of the fat, so that it plays a trick on your tongue, where you can taste both but neither dominates.”
Especially a beurre blanc made with dry sherry – an often overlooked ingredient for spring produce. We usually think of sherry as a boomer’s aperitif, or strictly for old school lobster bisque. But sherry lends itself beautifully to dishes with fiddleheads, asparagus and ramps. So the next time you’re making a beurre blanc try swapping the white wine with sherry and the vinegar with sherry vinegar – you’ll be amazed at how much brighter and more tantalizing this already divine sauce will become.
Adding a poached egg is next level. Photo courtesy of Edible Ottawa.
We love this fiddlehead recipe from Kitchen Frau, and this one from Edible Ottawa that features a poached egg. Try them both with sherry and taste the difference.
A fine dry sherry used in a beurre blanc for sauteed fiddleheads is divine. Julia Child would certainly approve. In fact, beurre blanc might become the vehicle of choice for all your spring veg going forward. If that becomes the case, who are we to stop you? We encourage it!