Name: Truffle Broccoli Asparagus Puree
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 100 grams broccoli; 200 grams asparagus; 1 teaspoon truffle oil; 100 ml reserved cooking water; salt and pepper

Truffle broccoli asparagus puree makes a gourmet side dish you can make in advance that is perfect for spring and works as a food styling hero too!

A gourmet puree like this truffle broccoli asparagus puree serves several purposes on a plate of food. For food styling purposes, it is more decorative as you can create shapes with it, perhaps a smear upon which you place meat or other vegetables. Or delicate little piped dots or streaks.

A puree also works in a similar way to a sauce, bringing elements together as well as preventing a dish from being too dry. I love playing with texture when creating a dish, and adding a puree to a plate of delicately balanced food can really elevate it.

I also love adding the flavour of truffle to the recipe, with its rich umami tones and decadent connotations. It's a strong flavour, so don't overdo it or it can overpower everything else. But a hint of truffle in a dish really adds depth and makes it taste expensive.

“Truffle is the food for kings, gods and pigs.”
Antonio Carluccio, chef and restaurateur

A plate with a smear of truffle broccoli asparagus puree on it and a whole head of broccoli

We need to cook our broccoli and asparagus until they are al dente, or just cooked. Cooking them too much will result in a dull, green and tasteless slush where all the flavour and nutrients have been leached out into the water. The asparagus and broccoli should be a vibrant and vivid green colour and all the flavours in the truffle broccoli asparagus puree will really shine.

I frequently serve this truffle broccoli asparagus puree as an easy side dish with roast lamb when the asparagus season is upon us in Springtime. There's nothing quite like the flavour of fresh asparagus.

If you're a huge fan of asparagus recipes like me, try this asparagus mousse amuse bouche, a delicious asparagus and crispy prosciutto quiche or this asparagus and comte cheese tart

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions and Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Truffle Broccoli Asparagus Puree

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make a truffle broccoli asparagus puree.

Take care when buying truffle oil, an alarming number of products have zero truffle in them, only a fake flavouring. The real stuff might cost more, but you'll be paying for the quality of flavour that is priceless. As a general rule, white truffle is more expensive than black truffle. There are many different kinds of truffle and it can be quite the delicious rabbit hole to throw yourself down (read more here) but for the purposes of this blog post - buy good quality truffle oil that is made by infusing oil with actual truffles and not just flavouring.

A bowl of cooked broccoli and asparagus and a bottle of truffle oil — The broccoli and asparagus should be a vibrant green colour after cooking

Asparagus
Broccoli
Truffle oil
Cooking water
Salt and pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a rolling, constant boil.

Prepare a bowl of ice-cold water next to it.

Cut the broccoli into small to medium-sized florets, try to keep them all to a similar size to ensure an even cooking time. Trim as much of the stalks off as you can.

raw broccoli florets with the stalks trimmed to a short length on a wooden chopping board — Trim the broccoli stems as short as you can

Cut the asparagus into short pieces approximately 1-2 inches long. If the end of the asparagus spear seems tough and woody, remove it.

First, cook your broccoli by placing the florets into the boiling water and cooking for 4 or 5 minutes until they are tender but still a vibrant green colour.

Remove them immediately to the iced water with a slotted spoon to halt the cooking process and leave them there until they have completely cooled.

Now cook the asparagus, which cooks much faster and will need one minute exactly before also being placed in ice water.

Reserve the cooking water as we will need it in our truffle broccoli asparagus puree.

Add the cooled broccoli and asparagus to the liquidiser and add a small amount of cooking water to help get things moving.

Start the liquidiser and add more of the reserved cooking liquid a tablespoon at a time until it is able to blend everything down to a puree. Be patient and give the liquidiser time to do its work, don't add too much liquid too soon. Keep blending until you reach a smooth texture with no flecks of the broccoli or asparagus present.

Now add your truffle oil. Adding a few drops will suffice as it has a strong flavour, and continue to blend the puree so it emulsifies.

The result will be a glossy, vivid green truffle broccoli asparagus puree - season with salt and pepper to taste at this stage and add more truffle oil if you think it needs it.

A note on consistency, this puree should be a thick liquid that holds its shape if you put a spoonful on a plate and doesn't run. if you reach soup consistency, you've gone too far.

Place the truffle broccoli asparagus puree in a saucepan to reheat, or store it in an airtight container until needed.

a bowl of truffle broccoli asparagus puree

Hint: Rather than dumping all the broccoli or asparagus into the boiling water all at once, feed then in a handful at a time to stop the water temperature from dropping.

Substitutions and Variations

Here are a few ways you can change up this broccoli asparagus puree to suit you.

Other vegetables - swap in some other green vegetables, just be sure to balance the flavours as brassica family veg (like broccoli) will have a stronger taste and can overpower others.
Oils - don't like truffle? Use plain extra virgin olive oil.
Spice - why not try using chilli garlic oil to give this recipe a kick?

Equipment

You will need the following equipment to make your puree.

Large saucepan
Large mixing bowl
Liquidiser - I use this one!
Chopping board and knife

I use Robert Welch knives and recommend the entire range, it's what I trained with at chef school.

Storage

Store any leftover truffle broccoli asparagus puree in an airtight container in the fridge. Good for 2-3 days.

You can also freeze this puree, use it within one month. If it is too watery when you defrost it, put it in a sieve over a bowl to allow the excess moisture to drain through.

Top tip

If you add too much water to this truffle broccoli asparagus puree by mistake, do not fear! Place it in a sieve over a bowl and the excess water will drain away.