Peel the asparagus, chop off the woody bases and tie into a bundle. Bring the water to the boil, with a little salt and the lemon juice, then add the asparagus, cover the saucepan and boil for 20 - 30 minutes.

Dissolve the gelatine in a little hot water in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Rinse

the prawns and dry them on kitchen paper. Lift the asparagus out of the pan, reserving the cooking liquid, leave to cool and then cut the asparagus into 5 cm (2 in) lengths.

Measure 375 ml (13 fl oz) of the reserved cooking water into a bowl, stir in the wine and gelatine. Pour a little of the liquid jelly into four glasses or glass dishes, and turn until evenly coated with jelly. Leave in the refrigerator to set.

Cut 4 slices from the egg. Place 1 sprig of dill, 1 slice of egg, 2 pieces of asparagus and a few prawns in the bottom of each glass, cover with liquid jelly and return the glasses to the refrigerator.

Allowing the aspic to set at each stage, continue to repeat the layers in this way until you have used all the ingredients. Chill until ready to serve.