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Asparagus With Soft-Boiled Duck Eggs, Capers, and Bone Marrow Broth

Food • Recipes • The Paleo Way

Pete heads to Tasmania to see how Cape Grim beef gets its international reputation. The answer? Rich, lush grasslands. Not content with just the standard cuts, Pete and fellow chef, Gavin Baker, explore the most nutritionally dense offal. Guests include author, Neil Mann. Meals include Duck Egg with Bone Marrow and Asparagus, Beef Heart with Chimicurri Sauce, Blackened Beef Liver, and “Lazy Man’s” Lamb.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 900 g beef marrowbones, cut into 2-inch (5cm) pieces
  • 1 L beef stock – see recipe
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 3 bunches asparagus, trimmed
  • 4 duck eggs
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus extra as needed
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons baby capers, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
  • Sorrel (preferably red-vein)

Method

  1. To make the bone marrow broth, remove the marrow from the bones, slice the marrow into 1 cm thick pieces and set aside. Heat the stock in a saucepan for 15 – 30 minutes over medium heat and reduce by just over half, or until 1 ½ cups remain. Add the vinegar, thyme, and sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste; set aside and keep warm.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the asparagus in boiling salted water until tender but still slightly crisp, about 1 minute, then drain. Plunge in cold water to stop asparagus the cooking, then set aside until needed.
  3. To prepare the eggs, bring a pot filled with water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and add the whole eggs with shells to the pot. Cook for 7 minutes (for soft-boiled), or adjust the cooking time to your liking. Remove with a slotted spoon, and then peel off the eggshells.
  4. Warm a frying pan over medium heat, gently heat the oil, then add the garlic and cook until it starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus, capers, and salt and pepper, then cook, tossing the pan until the asparagus turns slightly golden all over, for about 30 seconds.
  5. To finish the bone marrow broth: in another frying pan over medium heat, add a little oil and pan-fry the bone marrow for 30 seconds on each side, or until lightly browned. Add the reduced broth to the bone marrow and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
  6. To serve, divide the asparagus among four serving plates and spoon over the caper dressing from the pan. Cut the eggs in half and top the asparagus with the egg halves. Garnish with pine nuts and sorrel, spoon over a generous portion of the bone marrow reduction, and finish with freshly cracked black pepper to serve.