Caramelized Asparagus with Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream

Please, do not say YUK!

When I saw this recipe in a newspaper clipping, I was intrigued.
This time of year here in Germany asparagus and strawberries are everywhere. You can´t escape them.
I made a salad with this ingredients already and that tasted great, but this dessert is the pièce de résistence.

recipe for 4:
400 g white asparagus
400 ml water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

caramel:
40 g butter
40 g sugar
60 ml Grand Marnier triple sec

400 g strawberries
3 tbsp strawberry balsamic vinegar or a very fine other balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
some lemon balm or mint leaves

Vanilla ice cream:
250 ml whole milk
3 egg yolks
130 g sugar
1 vanilla pod
200 ml double cream

Prepare the ice cream first or buy some.
Heat up the milk with the emptied vanilla pod. Beat the eggs with the sugar and the vanilla seeds and pour a bit hot milk in to loosen it up, continue to whisk and get the rest of the milk into the bowl, back into the hot and bring it back to just before boiling so it starts to thicken. Cool it down in some cold water and add the double cream. Pour it into the ice cream maker and start to churn.

Peel the asparagus and cut it into 1 cm chunks. In a pot with 400 ml water, salt and sugar cook the asparagus until al dente, let it cool down.

Macerate the strawberries in vanilla sugar and strawberry balsamic vinegar. Mine is so good, I usually serve it in between courses at a dinner party in small shots glasses to guests.

Make the caramel in a small pan with first the sugar, when it gets colour, add the butter and melt it and add the triple sec and the cooked asparagus pieces. Let them warm through.

Serve them warm with 2 scoops of ice cream and the strawberries and top with some greenery.

Try this- I dare you!