Asparagus with whipped ricotta and romesco sauce
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Asparagus with whipped ricotta and romesco sauce
Recipe by Ben Waugh
The romesco sauce also makes a great canapé – spread it over little rounds of toasted sourdough and serve with ricotta on top
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
543Kcal
Fat
45gr
Saturates
11gr
Carbs
13gr
Sugars
10gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
21gr
Salt
3gr
Ben Waugh
With three smart restaurants across London, Bancone has earned itself a reputation as one of the places to go for top-notch modern pasta in the capital. Executive head chef Ben Waugh oversees the menus with a focus on quality ingredients executed with style and simplicity
See more of Ben Waugh’s recipes
Ben Waugh
With three smart restaurants across London, Bancone has earned itself a reputation as one of the places to go for top-notch modern pasta in the capital. Executive head chef Ben Waugh oversees the menus with a focus on quality ingredients executed with style and simplicity
See more of Ben Waugh’s recipes
Ingredients
For the romesco sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 120g shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1⁄2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 x 210g jar sweet and mild chopped cherry peppers, drained
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 250g good-quality tinned chopped tomatoes
- 160ml tomato juice
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 10g fresh basil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 200g mixed nuts
For the asparagus and ricotta
- 12 large asparagus spears, trimmed
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 160g ricotta*
- 2 tbsp double cream
Step by step
- Start with the romesco sauce, making this ahead to allow the flavours to develop. Put the olive oil, shallots, garlic and chilli in a pan and sweat down for 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but haven’t coloured.
- Add the drained pickled peppers and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until there is no moisture. Add the tomato purée and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, tomato juice and salt; cook gently for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to a thick sauce. Take off the heat, tear in the basil and add the red wine vinegar.
- Pulse the nuts in a blender or food processor, making sure not to break them down too much – they need to stay quite coarse. Remove to a bowl then put the tomato and pepper base in the blender and blitz before folding the sauce through the chopped nuts. Chill until 30 minutes before serving, then bring back to room temperature.
- Blanch the asparagus in a pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes until just tender. Refresh in iced water to stop the cooking process. Once cool, drain and lay on kitchen paper to dry, then toss with the oil and sea salt.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the ricotta with the cream until light and aerated. Season to taste.
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To serve, spoon some of the room-temperature romesco sauce in the middle of four plates and make a well. Place the asparagus on top, and then dot with the whipped ricotta.
*Use vegetarian cheese, if required.
