Chicken, Orange and Asparagus Toasts

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breast fillets
• 1 bundle sage
• 1 lemon (juice)
• 100 ml olive oil
• 800 g green asparagus
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 5 tbsp butter
• 4 blood oranges
• 250 g butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 tbsp dry white wine
• Salt
• white pepper (freshly ground)
• 12 slices toast bread

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and pat dry the chicken. Rinse the sage, shake off excess water, set aside 6 leaves, finely chop the rest. Mix chopped sage with lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. Marinate the chicken in this mixture for about 30 minutes.

2. 2.

   Peel the lower third of the asparagus, trim ends and cut into ~5 cm pieces. Cook in salted water with 1 tsp butter for about 7 minutes, then drain, shock in cold water and let dry. Halve the asparagus pieces lengthwise.

3. 3.

   Peel blood oranges with a sharp knife, removing all white membranes and cutting fillets along the inner membranes. Catch the juice that drips out and squeeze the remaining orange flesh to extract more juice.

4. 4.

   Melt butter for Hollandaise and skim off foam. Whisk egg yolks and wine in a metal bowl over a hot water bath until frothy. Gradually add melted butter in thin streams while constantly stirring, forming a smooth sauce. Do not allow the mixture to curdle. Season with 3 tbsp of captured orange juice, salt and pepper.

5. 5.

   Remove chicken from the marination. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan and sear the chicken for 4 minutes on each side. Slice the chicken diagonally into strips. Toast bread, cut circles, brush with remaining butter and place on parchment-lined tray. Arrange toast circles with chicken strips, orange fillets and asparagus, spread Hollandaise sauce over them, then bake at 200°C for about 8 minutes until golden. Garnish with sage leaves and serve.