White asparagus, cream with Comté cheese, chicken gravy and gingerbread

Prepare the chicken gravy in advance. Don’t hesitate to freeze the surplus in ice cubes tray, to use it whenever needed.

Massage the chicken meat and bones with the Marmite until every piece is well covered and place them into a boil-in-bag pack. Add the vegetables cut into pieces into the bag (one onion, the carrot, the leek, the half celery root and the bay leaves). Add two large pinches of Fleur de sel, the white wine and the Porto wine. Close the boil-in-bag pack, place it in an ovenproof dish and bake in oven at 200°C (392°F) for one hour. When it’s done open the bag, remove the meat and vegetables and recover the cooking juice. If it’s not concentrate enough, pour it into a pan and let reduce a little bit more. Add salt if necessary and set aside.

Peel the white asparagus and cook them in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cut the gingerbread slice into small cubes, place them on a baking paper sheet  and cook them a few minutes in oven, until crisp.

Chop the onion, and fry it into boiling oil, then drain on paper towels. Set aside.

In a pan, melt over low heat the Comté cheese into the liquid cream. When the cheese is completely melted, add the milk, then remove from heat and mix, using a long neck blender to have a soft and light texture.

Arrange the plate by placing 3 asparagus first. Pour the cream with cheese on the asparagus and add two tbsp of hot chicken gravy, without mixing.

Sprinkle with fried onions and crispy gingerbread cubes. Don’t hesitate to add a few edible flowers. (Here, ground ivy flowers and leaves and wild garlic flowers that we never get tired with !…)

Serve immediately.