It's a bit of an odd time for chefs and foodies right now.

The next couple of months are generally known as the ‘Hungry Gap’ in catering and agricultural circles, because everything, whilst showing signs of rapid growth, just isn’t ready to be harvested just yet.

Seasonally, it’s a period of frustrating waiting, pacing around the vegetable patch, and sadly that also means having to rely on quite a bit of imported stuff.

However, as the rhubarb disappears and the wild garlic dies back, one British product, one of my very favourites, begins its short, glorious season: asparagus is here!

Starting, technically, on the 23rd April and lasting until almost the end of June, we should plough into this delicious vegetable with gusto and enjoy it while it lasts. Out-of-season asparagus is not to be recommended – it’s generally grown in arid parts of Mexico and Chile, and recent reports are showing that, because of the vast amount of water the plants require, western demand is causing havoc with the balance of local ecosystems. All for a few spears with our Autumnal supper.

Terribly sad. Let’s just enjoy it while it’s around in Europe, and then put the recipes away until next year. It’s nice to have things to look forward to each year, like the first punnet of pick-your-own strawberries or the first peas from a home-grown pod.

Asparagus is utterly delicious, whether it’s simply steamed or simmered and served with the most basic of sauces like hollandaise or beurre blanc, or taken up a notch and paired with salty Serrano ham or baked into a rich quiche with flakes of fresh salmon.

More recently, chefs have enjoyed the effect that direct heat has on raw spears of asparagus – early summer barbecues can be used to char-grill the stems to a crunchy perfection, ready to be drizzled with good Modena balsamic vinegar and fluttering shavings of Reggiano Parmesan.

Thinly-shaved uncooked asparagus can add a wonderful pungent note to warm or chilled salads – a drizzle of olive oil, and perhaps a nice mild curd cheese tucked into crisp curls of Cos or Romaine lettuce would sit nicely with the shaved raw stems.

Tracy and I will often make an entire meal of a couple of bunches of asparagus, some melted butter, a few boiled Jersey Royals (also approaching their optimum picking season in May) and a grind of pepper.

Paired with a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc, it’s one of those ‘eyes-closed-in-utter-luxury’ meals you rarely come across. This recipe is from the less glitzy end of the spectrum, yet for me it brings all the complementary flavours one associates with fresh British asparagus into a harmonious plateful.

The strong flavour of asparagus pairs well with other forceful flavours, yet I think it works best along a more delicate path, with milder flavours accentuating its unmistakeable flavour.

Eggs, potatoes and cream all fit this bill, and so I came up with a combination of recipes from my notebooks that coalesced into a terrific supper or lunchtime dish showcasing this incredible edible.

(Note that the pavé needs 24 hours to make, so start this the day before you want to eat.)

FOR THE ASPARAGUS:

20-24 asparagus spears

FOR THE EGG YOLKS:

Extra-Virgin Olive oil

4 fresh, free-range egg yolks

FOR THE POTATO PAVé:

240ml double cream

1.3kg baking potatoes (about 6 big ones)

80g unsalted butter, melted, plus a little extra for frying

A little olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

A small handful of chives, finely chopped

Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper

FOR THE MUSTARD CREAM:

A small jar of Colman’s English mustard

250ml double cream

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

EXTRAS:

A baking dish or loaf tin (roughly 24cm square long by 9cm high)

Mandolin or grater with slicing blade

Baking parchment

METHOD:

First, prepare the potato pavé. Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas 4. Pour the cream into a wide bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Peel the potatoes and slice them as thinly as possible with the mandolin into the bowl of cream, covering them completely to stop them browning.

Brush the baking dish with a little of the melted butter. Line with a neat rectangle or square of baking parchment. Brush the parchment with more butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Drain and trim the potato slices to form a solid even layer in the bottom of the pan and lay them in the direction that works best to fill the pan. Brush with a little butter and season lightly. Continue layering the potatoes, brushing and seasoning after each two layers. Top with a buttered layer of baking parchment, then wrap the tin tightly with a piece of foil.

Bake the potatoes for about an hour and a half, or until they feel completely tender when pierced with the tip of knife. Remove from the oven and allow to settle and cool for 15 minutes.

Put a weight on top of the potatoes and cool the dish to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, still under weight. To make the mustard cream, set the cream to simmer gently in a small pan and reduce in volume by about half. Stir in some fresh lemon zest and juice, and as much mustard as you like.

Keep this sauce warm until you’re ready to serve.

To confit the egg yolks, heat the oven to 65-70ºC, or as low as possible.

In a small oven-proof dish, pour a little olive oil. Gently place each egg yolk in the dish, and add enough oil to just cover the yolks. Bake carefully for about 45 minutes (longer if you want a firmer yolk) and keep warm. To assemble the dish, unmould the pavé by gently running a palette knife around the sides to release it from the pan, and invert it onto a chopping board, patting it well to loosen it. Remove any parchment and trim all sides of the pavé nice and neat.

Heat a little olive oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sizzle for a few minutes. Cook the slices of pavé, basting with the juices in the pan, until browned on the first side, then turn carefully and brown the opposite side. Repeat until you have neat golden squares of potato, then garnish with the chopped chives and keep warm.

To prepare the asparagus, cook the stems by steaming or simmering gently in salted water until a knife point just goes through the thickest part of the stem with little resistance. Drain and keep warm.

Assemble the dish by placing a slice of potato on each plate and arrange the asparagus spears on top.

Drizzle the mustard sauce around, and top each plate with a confit yolk. Serve immediately.