Not quite ready to move on from the pairing of asparagus and rhubarb, I’ve decided to play them on the sweet side with the first of the fraises de bois. Rhubarb and strawberries are old friends.. but how to introduce asparagus? Going with fat as a flavor bridge, I blended asparagus puree into a mousse of lightly sweetened, whipped cream and cocoa butter.
Cocoa butter is a product that has great potential as a neutral-flavored fat that behaves like chocolate. Unlike chocolate, it is pure fat and has eluded me in my attempts to emulsify it with a water base. (Thanks- Dave Arnold- for introducing me to mono- and diglycerides). Here, that was not an issue, as the melted cocoa butter readily blends with cream, acting like a gel that firms and stabilizes. In this arena, the asparagus contributed a subtle herbal flavor that blended nicely with the rhubarb and strawberries.
Makes me wonder…what other obvious/not-so-obvious flavor pairings am I missing?
Playing with Fire and Water 
Interesting that Iron Chef Japan on FLN last night was battle asparagus!
It’s interesting to watch the legendary Morimoto in his first season of the Japanese iconic show. Some of his plates are awkward and incohesive… the baby steps of a culinary genius learning to merge the best of 2 worlds.
Your dish looks better than any of the ones presented last night on the show.
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