Mat Follas of the Bramble Café and Deli in Poundbury shares a recipe that's perfect for the summer.
My hobby is photography and if I could just have the light from this time of year all year round I might be a better photographer.
The long evenings with low sunlight make for the perfect light for taking wonderful pictures in woodlands and around town.
If the birds are too raucous on a sunny day the light in the mornings at about 6am is wonderful too!
Wonderful produce is all around us and none more spectacular and delicious than English asparagus.
Asparagus and freshly made lemony hollandaise is a real treat. I prefer asparagus when it’s griddled, which gives it smokiness and bite; a much more grown up dish than boiled asparagus.
Try making the hollandaise yourself using my method, it is really simple to do once you master it.
ASPARAGUS WITH HOLLANDAISE
PREPARE 15 MINUTES
COOK 5 MINUTES
20 asparagus spears
Vegetable oil
4 eggs
250g unsalted butter
Juice and zest of one lemon
Table salt
Ground white pepper
Hollandaise sauce
In a pan, melt the butter on a moderate heat, allow it to bubble for a few minutes to cook off the water. Set aside until it is just cool enough to touch.
Find a large glass where the internal diameter is slightly larger than your stick blender (a pint glass is perfect).
Separate the eggs. Placed the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, pepper and egg yolks into the glass.
Slowly place the stick blender into the glass, capturing the yolks under the blender end. While continuously blending pour the butter into the glass taking about 30 seconds, then slowly pull the blender out of the glass combining the butter and yolks to form the sauce; it really is that simple.
Asparagus
Prepare the asparagus spears ... snap them by bending from the base and discard the woody end, trim the stalk and take off the horns to leave a smooth asparagus spear. lightly oil and season the asparagus with a little table salt.
On a hot griddle pan, place the asparagus spears and cook on high until they are just starting to blacken, turn over and repeat.
Serve simply on a hot plate with a generous dollop of Hollandaise sauce, topped with a sprinkle of lemon zest.
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