Ollie Dabbous' English asparagus, virgin rapeseed oil mayonnaise, toasted hazelnuts and meadowsweet recipe

At the restaurant, this is served as the opening course of the tasting menu. It's a purely product-driven dish, completely naked, and one served to eat with your hands: the antithesis of what many people associate with fine dining. Serves 6 water 3 litres salt 90g English asparagus 2 bunches, trimmed and peeled where necessary For the mayonnaise: egg yolks 2 water 10g Dijon mustard 5g lemon juice 12g chardonnay vinegar 8g salt 3g sugar 1g vegetable oil 150g extra virgin rapeseed oil 100g dried meadowsweet 5g, an English wild flower, not dissimilar in taste to camomile, available from justingredients.co.uk toasted hazelnuts 100g, crushed and lightly salted Bring the water and salt up to a rapid boil and add the asparagus. Return to a fast simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, using a timer. Check a spear, and, if cooked to your taste, remove all the spears with a slotted spoon and plunge into iced water to arrest the cooking. Drain once cool; don't keep in the iced water longer than necessary. Keep at room temperature for serving. To make the mayonnaise, place all the ingredients apart from the oils in a container and blend. Gradually blend in the oils until the texture is thick and homogenous. Chill. Serve the asparagus with the mayonnaise, topped with a generous sprinkle of the meadowsweet. Place a mound of hazelnuts alongside. Eat by dipping the asparagus spears first into the mayonnaise and then into the hazelnuts. • Dabbous, 39 Whitfield Street, London W1T 2SF; dabbous.co.uk; 020 7323 1544