Leipziger Allerlei | Leipzig-Style Spring Vegetables in Butter Sauce

Use a peeler to peel the white asparagus thinly, starting just below the tip and working toward the end of the stalk. Cut off the woody bottom 2 cm. Put the peels and trimmed ends in 1.5 liters of water with salt and sugar. Boil for 10 minutes, then strain; cook the vegetables in this fragrant broth.

Cut the carrot and peeled kohlrabi into finger-thick sticks, and quarter the mushrooms. Cut the asparagus into 4 cm pieces.

Cook the asparagus in the strained boiling broth for 8–10 minutes, until a knife tip slides in easily. Remove it with a slotted spoon. Do not discard the broth.

In the same broth, cook the carrot for 8 minutes, then the kohlrabi for 6 minutes, and finally the peas for 3 minutes. Remove each with a separate slotted spoon. Each vegetable should be firm but no longer taste raw. Reserve 300 ml of the cooking broth.

Melt 10 g of the butter in a pan. Sauté the mushrooms for 5 minutes, until they release and then reabsorb their liquid. Add the shrimp and cook, turning, for 2–3 minutes, until fully pink and curled.

Melt the remaining butter in a large saucepan and cook the flour for 2 minutes without browning it. Whisk in the reserved hot broth, then add the cream and cook for 5 minutes, until thickened. Season with lemon juice, salt, and nutmeg.

Add all the vegetables, mushrooms, and shrimp to the sauce and heat for just 2 minutes; take care not to break the asparagus as you stir. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.