Method:
Asparagus
Snap and trim the asparagus to the same length. Reserve trim for the puree.
Asparagus puree
Finely chop the asparagus. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the asparagus, season then cover and cook quickly until tender. Blend until smooth, pass through a sieve. Taste and season.
Hogweed
Pick the leaves off the hogweed. Peel the bottom of the hogweed shoots if stringy, cook for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, refresh in iced water. To serve, heat 50g butter in a pan and add the hogweed shoots and cook until hot. Season. Fry the leaves in butter, adding more butter as they cook to prevent them drying out and burning. The leaves will become crispy as the sugars in the leaves caramelise. Season and strain on absorbent cloth.
Pine oil
Cook the parsley for 6 minutes in boiling water, strain and refresh in iced water. Squeeze out dry as possible. Place the pine needles, parsley and oil in a blender and blitz for 8 minutes. Strain into muslin cloth and hang above a bowl overnight.
Mead Sauce
Warm the mead and honey, whisk in the butter until emulsified. Add a little salt and lift with lemon juice. Add the lecithin, blitz until frothy.
To serve
In a pan large enough to hold the asparagus spears, add a bed of pine needles before laying out the asparagus in a single layer on top. Coat with the rapeseed oil and season. Cover with foil and place on stove and fry for 2 minutes before putting in 180c oven for 8 minutes or until tender.
Warm the asparagus puree, stir in a few drops of pine oil before placing it on the plate.
Place the asparagus and warmed hogweed shoots offset on the puree.
Heat the mead sauce, froth and spoon over the asparagus.
Sprinkle over the crisp hogweed leaves to finish. At the restaurant we also use other foraged young leaves and shoots from the valley.