Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

From the garden

• 2 lb asparagus, woody ends trimmed, thick spears peeled at the base
• 1 tbsp soft herbs (chives, dill, or parsley), chopped (optional)

From the pantry

• ¾ cup butter · unsalted if you have it
• 3 egg yolks · save the whites for another use
• 1 lemon · juice, about 2 tablespoons
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Snap the woody end off one spear to find where it breaks cleanly, then trim the rest to match. Peel the bottom third of anything thicker than a pencil, since the flesh underneath is tender and only the skin is tough.
2. Melt the butter in a small pan and set it somewhere warm. Bring a small saucepan of water to a bare simmer for the sauce, and a wide pan of well salted water to a boil for the spears.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice and a tablespoon of water in a heatproof bowl set over the simmering saucepan, the base clear of the water. Keep whisking about 3 minutes, lifting the bowl away whenever it feels hot, until the yolks thicken enough to hold a ribbon.
4. Take the bowl off the heat and add the warm butter drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream, whisking without stopping until the sauce is thick and glossy. Season with salt and more lemon, and hold it over the turned off water. If it looks grainy or split, whisk in a spoonful of hot water.
5. Simmer the spears 2–4 minutes, depending on thickness, until one bends under its own weight without flopping, then lift them onto a towel to drain. Lay them on a warm platter, spoon the hollandaise across the middle so the tips stay bare, and finish with black pepper and the herbs.