Marinated asparagus with relish

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg asparagus
• Salt
• 1 tsp butter
• a pinch of sugar
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• pepper (ground)
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 shallots
• 2 pickled cucumbers
• pickling liquid

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the asparagus spears and trim the ends. Cook the asparagus in plenty of salted water for 12 minutes until al dente.

2. 2.

   Whisk together vinegar, 4 tbsp of asparagus cooking liquid, sugar, salt, and pepper to make a dressing. Place the cooked asparagus warm into the dressing, cover, and let it cool and absorb flavors for 1 hour, turning occasionally.

3. 3.

   Simmer tomatoes, peel them, quarter, seed, and dice finely.

4. 4.

   Peel shallots and drain pickled cucumbers. Dice shallots and pickles very finely. Combine vegetable cubes in a bowl and season with pickling liquid, salt, and pepper to taste.

5. 5.

   To serve, arrange the marinated asparagus on a plate and decorate with the tomato-cucumber relish.