Professor Butter Beard and Manet’s “A Bunch of Asparagus”
“The Earl of Woolsey was indeed completely nude. He did not seem particularly perturbed by this fact, but Miss Tarabotti felt the sudden need to close her eyes tight and think about asparagus or something equally mundane.” - Gail Carriger, “Souless”
Oh dear. I’m not sure which is more disturbing – the fact that the Earl of Woolsey was unmistakably nude, or that Miss Tarabotti might consider the magnificent asparagus to be frightfully mundane. And as I allow the thought to dance even further, I wonder about Miss Tarabotti and her choice of avoiding the Earl’s display with thoughts of a delicious culinary gift that springs to life overnight, fully erect and ready to please. Oh my.
The triumphant arrival of the first asparagus perfectly coincides with the opening of the first springtime Farmer’s Markets – including my personal favorite in Red Bank. I wake early on Sunday mornings and turn on my oven and coffee maker to the sounds of the first birdsong and Nellie shaking her furry head to wrestle out her dreams of squirrels and marrow bones. I whip together some muffins, scones or madeleines as “good morning gifts” for the farmers who I then greet as they are setting up their glorious displays of the season’s brightest and most flavorful vegetables, herbs, and honey.
This morning, it was all about the asparagus. Bundles sat at the ready, gloriously green with vibrant purple-tinged tips and I had to consciously control my urge to snap off a couple spikes and devour them right then and there. As I perused the rest of the table covered with fluffy greens, the first ruby radishes and tall spring onions, suddenly the image of Édouard Manet’s “A Bundle of Asparagus” appeared in my mind like a delicious memory.
Manet’s “Botte d’asperges” are probably the most famous asparagus in the world. The artist was in the last decade of his life when he began sending small paintings of fruit and flowers to his friends. The art collector Charles Ephrussi received a portrait of asparagus, the muse Méry Laurent was sent apples, and the artist Berthe Morisot was gifted with violets, like those Manet had included in his portrait of her in mourning. Daisy Dunn writes, “Each picture offered something lasting. I would have given you the real thing, Manet seems to say, but they’d only have rotted away.”
There is a funny story about the asparagus painted for Mr. Ephrussi. Manet painted the freshly picked white- and lilac-tinged spears for his art collector friend in 1880 before invoicing him for 800 francs. Ephrussi was so charmed with the culinary portrait that he paid Manet 1,000 francs instead, to which Manet responded by sending a second small canvas. “One appears to have escaped your bunch,” the painter quipped in his accompanying note. The new canvas featured a single spear of ripe asparagus.
Laurence Bertrand Dorléac, curator at the Louvre, writes: “In our twittering world, artists (like Manet) invite us to pay attention to everything that is silent and minuscule. In giving form to the things of life, the things of death, they talk of us, of our history . . . our attachments, fears, hopes, caprices, follies.” Manet accomplished just that. Within a personal gift of a small painted canvas, he captured life at its most vibrant and moved it forward with a wink and a smile.
My bunches of asparagus arrived home safely with only just five or six spears missing having been sacrificed as a mid-drive snack. The remaining spikes were briefly sauteed in butter and then artistically arranged in a pastry crust before being baked in a custard of duck eggs, heavy cream, lemon zest and goat cheese. Spring has sprung. Plan to visit your local Farmer’s Market. They’ve been waiting all winter to see you, and I promise, their gifts are anything but mundane.
Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart
One round or rectangular tart
Tart Shell:
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
1 large egg
1 Tbsp cold water
Filling:
1 bunch freshly picked asparagus
Butter, salt and pepper to sauté the asparagus
2 large eggs (I used duck eggs from today’s Farmer’s Market)
¾ cup heavy cream
Zest of one lemon
½ tsp fine sea salt and a couple grinds of black pepper
4 ounces goat cheese
1) For the tart shell: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and sea salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarsely ground cornmeal. Add the egg and Tbsp cold water and pulse until the dough just begins to come together. Dump the mixture into a medium bowl and gather it into a ball with your hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
2) When ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the tart shell dough to fit your selected tart pan. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork and use aluminum foil to hold the shell in place. Bake the shell for fifteen minutes, remove the foil, and continue to bake for another ten minutes until the crust is golden.
3) While the crust bakes, briefly sauté the asparagus spears in a dab of unsalted butter (in batches for no longer than 3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and set them aside.
4) In a 4-cup measuring bowl, lightly whisk together the 2 eggs, heavy cream, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Crumble half the goat cheese into the mixture and lightly whisk together, mashing the goat cheese into the cream mixture.
5) Layer the asparagus spears in the baked pie shell. Pour the custard over the asparagus and then crumble the remaining goat cheese over the top of the custard. Place in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for roughly 20-25 minutes until the custard is set and the goat cheese on the top is beginning to brown.
6) Cool the tart at least 30 minutes before slicing to serve.
