Thursday, October 1, 2015

Enter the asparagus


As it's asparagus season again, I thought I'd repost some previous recipes featuring this most delicious of vegetables, in three lovely entrees!  
From early September on to the end of October, asparagus finds its way frequently onto our entrĂ©e plates. Steamed or braised, cold or warm, they always make a fabulous starter. Here are three simple and delicious ways to serve them: steamed, with a vinaigrette made from virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard;  lightly braised in olive oil, with a slice of melted Brie on top; and  fresh steamed asparagus with semi-hard-boiled egg dressing. Steam the asparagus till cooked but not too soft, let them cool. Boil an egg(not too hard-boiled but not soft-boiled either), peel off shell, then chop the egg into bits. In a small bowl mix a tablespoon sour cream, a teaspoon Dijon mustard, a little salt, pepper, a small splash of either lemon or white balsamic vinegar. Mix the chopped egg in with this and serve the mixture drizzled over the asparagus.
Other delicious ways to serve include: the basic braised one with cooked small cherry chopped tomatoes and olives scattered on top--other toppings for cold entree asparagus include chopped smoked salmon or very good leg ham; and for the warm variety, sesame oil can replace the olive oil, and chopped stir-fried prawns with coriander and Vietnamese mint scattered on top. In fact, the only limit is your imagination, when you start with that basic delightful green handful of aspragus spears!

2 comments:

  1. I'll have to bookmark this entry. I love asparagus, but so far have only eaten it plain, steamed. And because asparagus goes droopy so very quickly, I usually wait till I've steamed everything else, then turn off the stove and put in my asparagus for about a minute.

    Your recipes sound wonderful!

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