Green asparagus from Provence from Didier and Sabine Ferreint. – Dimitri K.
- Dideir and Sabine Ferreint have been cultivating asparagus in the Durance plain, in Mallemort, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, since 1995.
- Nicolas Bottero is the chef of Mas Bottero, a one-star restaurant in the Michelin Guide near Aix-en-Provence.
- During the first confinement, Nicolas Bottero sold Didier and Sabine’s asparagus in a short circuit to the restaurant, in addition to cooking them for his take-out meals.
- They developed the cultivation of small winter vegetables, in a generally slack period for the producer, a win-win collaboration.
They get a final beauty before being tasted: a little trimming of the foot, a good bath of fresh water before going to the calibration and being stuffed. Didier and Sabine Ferreint have been lovingly caring for their asparagus for months, and even years, to obtain this pretty green bouquet. They grow peacefully in the fertile plain of the Durance, at Mallemort in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Didier and Sabine have been cultivating them here since 1995, when Sabine’s grandparents bequeathed them this small agricultural land. They had years with it, and years without. But 2020 remains a special year. “Almost 80% of the production went to restaurants, so with the confinement, it was problematic. We had to find other solutions, develop farm sales, organize small markets between colleagues, ”recalls Didier.
And also the sale directly in restaurants. “The chefs put our raw products on sale at home. It was a total success, the more we mature the experience, the more it is a total success, ”said Didier.
Twice as much asparagus than normal
And this year, his asparagus is also found on the take-out menu of restaurants, such as at Mas Bottero, a one-star restaurant in the Michelin Guide, run by Nicolas Bottero. “Already last spring we spent twice as much asparagus than normal. We doubled the volume of purchases, whether on the take-out menu or on the resale part. It creates even more links between the consumer and the producer, ”says the Michelin-starred chef.
At the end of the asparagus season, in May, last year, Nicolas and Didier pushed this reflection forward. “My activity was concentrated at this time, and almost nothing in the fall and winter, and soil rotation with asparagus is not easy. The asparagus stalk remains in place for ten years, with a first harvest after three years, and it is difficult to replant in the same places with the rotting of the roots, the diseases, ”says Didier.
Small winter vegetables
Nicolas Bottero then offers him to grow mini winter vegetables. “I submitted this idea to him because these products are appreciated by restaurateurs, and there were no producers within 50 km around. We built the project together, ”emphasizes Nicolas Bottero.
“I had made these vegetables but they had to be produced in large volumes and I did not find myself in this mode of cultivation. I made four kinds of colored carrots, three different beets, turnips, baby leeks and multicolored radishes. I was very surprised at the quality that we got from these products, and the parasites of asparagus are not the same as those of these vegetables, so it helps to maintain the earth and make it more alive ”, rejoices Didier.
Win-win
Since then, he has offered these little winter vegetables to more than sixty chefs, and when they are a little too big for them, he sells them directly to his customers in a short circuit. “I really didn’t expect such success with these vegetables. They bring color when winter comes, it brings joy. And it especially allowed me to finance the employment of a young 21 year old who is in agricultural BTS, and to develop an activity during a period of the year which was usually slack. It is very gratifying in the current situation ”, testifies Didier.
“It’s a win-win relationship. I am lucky to be able to choose the vegetables that Didier cultivates myself, and it is an alliance between the two of us that allows him to adapt his crops according to needs. So I made a lot of take-out meals with small vegetables. These are quality products, made to measure by a producer who is also a friend, and this has enabled this short circuit that we had initiated through asparagus to develop even further, ”says Nicolas Bottero. He is also in the process of setting up a vegetable garden in the grounds of his restaurant to produce himself, and on site, certain “special” vegetables, such as the trumpet courgette.
Nicolas Bottero’s asparagus recipe
Green asparagus from Provence, Brousse du Rove and crispy chickpeas. For four persons.
Ingredients:
12 beautiful green asparagus
4 Rove bushes
1/4 bunch of coriander
1/4 bunch of tarragon
1/4 bunch of chives
1/4 bunch of rosemary
4 shallots
25 cl of olive oil
5 cl of lemon juice
4 pastry sheets
20 g melted butter
25 cl of vegetable broth
100 g cooked chickpeas
salt pepper
– Asparagus: Wash and shell the asparagus. Trim the foot at 5 cm. Keep the larger ones to cut raw shavings using a mandolin. Start cooking the asparagus in a sauté pan, covered with olive oil, season, cover and wet halfway with the vegetable broth. Cook quickly until the liquid has evaporated. Cool.
– Brousse: Drain the bushes and season with chopped herbs, finely chopped shallots, 10 cl of olive oil and a dash of lemon juice. Adjust in salt and pepper to taste.
– Brick sheets: Cut lengths of brick pastry sheets 4 cm high. Brush with melted butter and wrap around an 8 cm diameter dessert ring. Bake at 180 ° C for six minutes Let cool and unmold.
– Chickpeas: Drain the chickpeas and spread them out on a baking sheet with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and brown in a hot oven for a few minutes. Cool.
– Dressing: Place your circle of pastry sheet on a plate, fill it halfway up with the Rove bush; cut asparagus in half and stand upright in the bush. Garnish with raw shavings and fried chickpeas. Drizzle with olive oil and fleur de sel.