Ravioli with poached white asparagus, fermented asparagus butter, grilled coal oil and fresh peas

We love the chlorophyll-laden greenery of spring, and what’s greener than green peas? In this dish, we pair them with white asparagus and pasta – an unbeatable combo that you can easily serve both as a stand-alone main course or as part of a menu. This recipe serves 10 people as one dish in a larger menu, or 4-6 if you choose to serve it as a main course (depending on how generous you want to be).

Pasta dough

• 112 g Durum wheat flour
• 112 g Plain flour
• 150 g Egg yolk
• 10 g Water

Mix all the ingredients for the pasta dough in a dough mixer for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Roll out thinly using a pasta machine and fill the ravioli with the pea filling as instructed

Pea filling

• 200 g Peas
• 75 g Parmesan cheese
• 150 g Smetana
• 1/2 Lemon
• 3 g Salt

Blanch the peas quickly and blend them smooth with a hand blender. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh sieve. Grate the Parmesan and add the finely grated lemon zest. Fold in the Smetana and season with salt. Fill a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use.

Fermented Asparagus Butter

• 100 g Butter
• 80 g Fermented asparagus juice
• 25 g Elderberry syrup
• 80 g Peas
• 10 g Chives
• 10 g Spinach
• 2 g Salt

Blanch the chives and spinach for 10 seconds, then cool in ice water. Melt the butter and pour it into a jug blender with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and strain the liquid. Cool over ice bath and keep cold until serving.

Grilled coal oil

• 1 tbsp Rapeseed oil
• 1 piece of glowing charcoal

Place a glowing piece of charcoal in a heat-resistant bowl of rapeseed oil and allow the charcoal to infuse the oil until the desired smokey character is achieved. It is preferable to do this outdoors or in a very well-ventilated area when the charcoal is placed in the oil, as heavy smoke may develop.

Fresh peas

• 500 g split peas

Shell the peas. Blanch the peas quickly and cool them in an ice bath.

Pea oil

• 100 g Rapeseed oil
• 50 g Pea pods
• 20 g Pea shoots
• 10 g Spinach

Cut off the edges of the pea pods and toss with canola oil and salt. Grill the pea pods and mix them with the rapeseed oil, pea shoots and spinach. Let the oil drain slowly through a sieve without squeezing. Season with a few drops of grilled coal oil.

Poached white asparagus

• 10 pcs White asparagus
• 140 g Elderberry syrup
• 60 g Water
• 4 g Salt

Peel the asparagus and put it in a vacuum bag with the elderberry syrup, water and salt. Seal and bake at 100°C for about 7 minutes. Drain the liquid and brush the asparagus with oil before grilling.

Garnish

• 15 g Pea shoots