Asparagus feuilletés

1. Presentation

These pastries make delicious starters. Prepare 2-4 per person, depending on what you are serving to follow and the appetite of your guests. As an inexperienced cook, I am often confronted by two difficulties when preparing them: 1. obtaining a sauce that is not too runny while avoiding the horrible lumps that form with the flour (note: I have since discovered a way to avoid the lumps: put it all through a food mixer). 2. having pastries that don't turn out right, and being able to open them without destroying them completely.

Because of these variable technical factors, success can not always be guaranteed. However, even if through bad luck you've made those two mistakes, there will be no ill effect on flavour. At worst, you will have pastries that are spoilt by the lumps of flour in the sauce. You just have to close your eyes or turn out the light when eating them.

2. Ingredients

Asparagus	1 small tin
Egg	1
Salt	1+2 pinches
Butter	1walnut-sized knob
Warm water	approx. 1 dl
Vegetable stock cube	¼
Pepper	2 pinches
Crème de Gruyère, if you can get it, otherwise cream cheese or double cream	1 dl
Flour	approx.  2 tsps
Puff pastry	e.g. 1 packet of Jus-Rol/Saxby’s, Leisi or Jowa Migros in Switzerland

3. Preparation
1. Preliminary steps
• Mix one egg yolk with a little warm water, and beat until it is runny and add a pinch of salt to taste.
• Cut the puff pastry into 4 rectangles.
• Dip the rectangles into the egg yolk mixture to coat them.
• Grease the baking tray with butter to prevent the pastries from sticking (you can also use special baking paper).
• Heat the oven to 200° C.
2. Asparagus
• Heat the asparagus gently in their juice.
• When they are ready, lift out the asparagus and keep them warm if necessary. Leave the juice in the pan.
3. Sauce
• Cook the juice, covered, for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1 dl of warm water and leave to cook.
• Add 2 pinches of pepper and of salt.
• Add 1 dl of Crème de Gruyère or double cream.
• Cook at a medium high heat until the sauce thickens.
• If it does not thicken, add (through a sieve, to avoid lumps) the flour after mixing it with cold water.
4. The pastries
• Heat the oven to 200° C.
• Put the pastries into the oven and keep an eye on them. Do not open the oven door before you are sure they have risen properly.
4. Serving

To serve, open up the pastries using a knife and put a few asparagus and a little sauce inside each one.