Finding the right dish for women to gossip over while sipping a glass of wine isn't easy, but this is a good solution

CATCHING UP WITH pals over a bite to eat is always a lovely thing to do. But Lord knows in the past, I’ve asked friends over for dinner, promptly forgotten about it, and when the day in question arrives, I realise there is nothing to eat, no time to shop and I start to wonder if I can fob them off with a takeaway for dinner.

Such a dilemma struck a couple of weeks ago, and although the gals in question are pretty forgiving, I felt I owed them something a bit more special than store-bought pesto with whole-wheat pasta. A quick flick through Simon Hopkinson's book The Vegetarian Optionprovided the perfect solution. His asparagus custards looked just the right kind of dish for us to gossip over while sipping a glass of white.

This dish is a great way to make 10 asparagus spears serve four guests because the recipe calls for 250g asparagus and each stalk weighs 25g. The recipe also makes just enough custard mixture for exactly four portions, in small ramekins. These are delicious when served warm, but I kept one, refrigerated it overnight and the next day dunked the ramekin in some warm water to loosen it up. I turned it out onto a plate, giving it a few tap-tap-taps and eventually, but reluctantly, it fell on to the plate.

It was velvety, rich and lovely to eat, but the butter you grease the ramekins with left a thin layer of cold butter around the outside of the custard. It reminded me of the clarified butter you find on the top of potted crab or shrimp, which most people scrape off. On crisp melba toast this butter was very nice, but having tasted the custards warm and cold, I think they are best eaten warm.

The custard got the thumbs up and although the chocolate mousse is also a winner, my advice would be to make them on different days, as between them they contain a lot of eggs and cream. The mousse is a great one for kids to make because it’s easy. But it does need a good few hours to set so that it loses its gooiness and instead takes on a dense fudginess.

Warm asparagus custards with tarragon vinaigrette

Serves 4

250g asparagus

Salt

Butter

4 egg yolks

150ml cream

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp tarragon leaves

50ml olive oil

Preheat an oven to 150 degrees/gas two. Trim the ends of the asparagus and cook in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water. When they’re drained and cold, roughly chop them and put in a food processor with the egg yolks and cream. Whiz until smooth, season and then pour into four buttered ramekins. Put the ramekins into a roasting tray and fill it up with hot, though not boiling, water and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are starting to firm up.

Meanwhile, whisk the white wine vinegar with the Dijon, sugar and tarragon. Gradually whisk in the olive oil and add a splash of warm water to help emulsify the vinaigrette. Remove the custards from the oven and the roasting tray and serve (when they’ve cooled a little) with the dressing spooned on top, some crisp bread and a green salad.

Rich dark chocolate mousse

Serves 6

300g dark chocolate

150g butter

6 eggs separated

80g caster sugar

150ml cream

Break the chocolate into small pieces. Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. When it has melted and has slightly cooled, beat in the egg yolks with a wooden spoon. It will go quite thick and shiny, so keep stirring and then gradually add cream, which you should have heated up gently in a saucepan.

Whisk the egg whites till they form soft peaks and then add the sugar, spoonful by spoonful, and then fold into the chocolate mixture. At this stage, it should be shiny and smooth. Divide between six glasses, chill overnight and serve. dkemp@irishtimes.com

See also itsa.ie