Spargel mit Hollandaise

Spargel mit Hollandaise is thick white asparagus spears boiled just tender and draped in warm, buttery hollandaise. It's Germany's spring obsession, with its own dedicated season — roughly late April to late June — that most menus build entirely around, dropping the dish the moment the season ends rather than serving it year-round.

What it actually is

Thick, pale white asparagus — grown entirely underground, mounded over with soil to block out sunlight and keep it from turning green — peels and trims before boiling gently in water seasoned with salt, sugar and a little butter, just until a knife slides through with almost no resistance. It's plated simply, spears lined up, and finished with warm hollandaise, an emulsified butter-and-egg-yolk sauce, ladled generously over the top. Boiled potato and often a slice of ham or Schnitzel sit alongside.

White, not green, asparagus is the whole point of the German version. The two are genuinely different vegetables in practice — white asparagus is milder, denser and needs real peeling and longer cooking, while green asparagus common elsewhere is thinner-skinned and quicker to cook; serving green spears under this name misses what the dish is actually about.

How it's served

• Warm, spears lined up on the plate, hollandaise ladled generously over the top.
• With boiled potato, and often ham, smoked salmon or a Schnitzel alongside.
• Only in season, roughly late spring, since fresh white asparagus outside that window is rare and out of character for the dish.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag egg and dairy; the hollandaise carries both.
• Say that it's a seasonal dish, and name the season dates if you can, since guests specifically look for it during that window.
• Note that it's white asparagus, not green, since the two need different cooking times and taste noticeably different.
• Mention what it's served with — ham, salmon or Schnitzel — since the accompaniment changes the dish from a side into a full meal.