Ingredients

• 20 asparagus spears, uniformly sized, and peeled
• Sea salt, for sprinkling
• Sugar, for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• Crayfish, recipe follows

Directions

Crayfish:

Sea salt

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 teaspoon dried cumin seeds

1 teaspoon white peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground star anise

1 bay leaf

1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch sticks

5 whole small shallot bulbs

1 fennel bulb, quartered

1 whole chile pepper, such as a jalapeno, cut in 1/2, and seeded

32 fresh crayfish

1/2 cup butter

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and then add the sea salt, garlic, cumin, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaf, celery, shallots, fennel, and chile. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. This will be used as the stock to cook the crayfish.

With a spider or slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the stock. Bring the stock back to a boil for another 10 minutes.

In another large saucepan of boiling salted water, place the crayfish, which are still alive at this point, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove them to an ice water bath to cool them and prevent further cooking. Remove them from the water bath, turn their tails, and pull to remove the intestines. Then, add them to the stock and cook for several minutes, or until cooked through. Cool them in the ice water bath, and then peel them with a pair of scissors.

In a large skillet, brown 1/2 cup of butter. Add the peeled crayfish, lime juice, and chervil, tossing to coat well.