Muddy Boots Farm shop : Char-grilled Balmalcom Asparagus with fried duck egg and Anster cheese

I visited the Muddy Boots Farm shop near Balmalcom, on the A914 west of Cupar recently. Here is some of what they had what they had to offer. 

I found some wonderful Scottish asparagus on offer, I could not resist grabbing a bunch for a quick and tasty lunch dish. Some lovely, fresh duck eggs from the farm and beautiful unpasteurised Anster cheese from the St. Andrew's Cheese Company in Fife, completed my bounty.

Asparagus this fresh, does not compare to the biter imports we see in the super markets for most of the year. In the UK growing season can be from late April to the end of June. (I found some Scottish asparagus on sale on the 19th April this year, surely and record!!). However, the Scottish season can be as short as two weeks!!


Once asparagus is harvested, it immediately starts to lose its' natural sweetness as the sugars are converted to less tasty compounds.

So, to get the best flavour from your asparagus follow these simple rules: buy it in season, buy it locally and use it immediately.

Check out my recipe for Char-grilled Balmalcom Farm Asparagus with fried duck egg and Anster cheese below...

I chose to char-grill this asparagus as it was nice and thick, almost as thick as my thumb at the bottom end. This meant I could cut it in half which would give a great surface for the char-grill to do its magic.

As ever with char-grills, it is much better to rub the item you are grilling with oil and not the grill pan. This will help prevent billows of smoke from filling your kitchen.

Heat the char grill over a medium high flame until smoking and them place the asparagus, cut side down, and leave untouched for 4 minutes. Turn the asparagus over and season with salt and pepper then cook for a further 2 minutes or until the asparagus is just tender.

Meanwhile fry your duck eggs slowly in foaming butter.

Place the asparagus onto warmed plates and grate over some of the beautiful Anster cheese.

Drizzle, the plate, with cold pressed rape seed oil and a little balsamic vinegar them pop the duck egg on top.