Asparagus with Oysters
 
 Ingredients:
 
 Fresh asparagus - allow 6 or 7 spears/person (not too thin, not too old)
 Fresh or frozen oysters - allow 3 per person
 2 T dry white wine
 2 only egg yolks
 20 g butter (unsalted?)
 Salt, pepper, cayenne (if you must :-) for seasoning
 
 
 Method:
 
 Trim bottom 1″ of the asparagus spears and peel the lower part if necessary
 (shouldn't be required if you've selected the bunches correctly and trimmed
 off the bottoms) then poach them gently - get about 1″ of water boiling in 
 a flat pan and lay the spears in it to cook for about 7 minutes (or use a 
 European-style tall asparagus boiler if you must).
 
 Cut the oysters into thin strips rather than serving them as lumps.
 
 Reserve the juice from the oyster shells - should get about 2 T from 6 oysters.
 Mix this with the dry white wine and reduce over heat by about 2/3rds (i.e.
 you'll have about 1 1/2 T left).
 
 Add this liquor and about 4 T of the poaching water slowly to the egg yolks
 and whisk them over very low heat until light and frothy (note: do not have
 the liquor or the other fluid too hot when adding to the eggs - you don't
 want to curdle them).
 
 Add seasoning.  Then draw the sauce together by adding 20 g of *cold* diced
 butter and stirring it in gently.  Add the oyster strips and fold through.
 
 Lay the freshly cooked asparagus spears on the serving plates and pour the
 oyster sauce over them (fairly now ;-).

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