Asparagus with Sauce Gribiche and Fried Capers

The classic French sauce gribiche is similar to mayonnaise, but made with cooked, not raw, egg yolks, and seasoned with capers and herbs. For this dish, we used white balsamic vinegar instead of conventional wine vinegar because we preferred balsamic’s mild sweetness. And instead of adding capers to the sauce, we used caper brine; the capers themselves we fried to create a crisp garnish for the sauced asparagus. Finally, a dose of horseradish gave the sauce a welcome piquancy. When buying asparagus, choose spears that are similar in size; we preferred pencil-sized spears. The cooking time will vary slightly based on the thickness of the spears.