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| White Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar Mayonnaise |
| Make a mayonnaise substituting a good quality Balsamic vinegar ( Traditional if available) for the regular vinegar and lemon juice. Peel and cook white asparagus as detailed above, then chill. Serve mayonnaise with the chilled white asparagus tips. The balsamic mayonnaise will lose its flavour within a day so do not make too far in advance. |
| White Asparagus with Truffle Sauce | |
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1 small black truffle 1/3 cup beef or veal stock |
1/3 cup either Sherry, Port, or Madeira 2 egg yolks |
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Peel and cook white asparagus as detailed above.
Simmer a small black truffle in a mix of about 1/3 cup each of a rich beef or veal stock and
a sweet wine like Sherry, Port, or Madeira for about 10 minutes. Chop the truffle finely. Reduce
the stock wine mix to a several tablespoons then cool. Add the chopped truffles to two egg yolks and mix in the reduced stock wine mix. Over low heat such as a double boiler (over, not in the hot water) add up to 6 oz. of cold, clarified, unsalted butter in small amounts, stirring constantly. Never let the sauce become warmer than is required to slowly incorporate the butter or it will separate. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over the warm white asparagus. This sauce also goes very well with veal ,salmon, prawns, or any mild fish or vegetable. |
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| White Asparagus With Parmaesan (Serves two; expand as necessary) Our Favorite! | |
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8-10 white asparagus spears (medium thickness) Parmesan cheese, grated |
Heavy cream or table cream and 1/2 tsp. cornstarch |
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Peel white asparagus and remove the more fibrous butt ends. In a ten inch frying pan, add
about one inch of boiling water or enough to cover the peelings and ends as well as the 8-10
spears of white asparagus. Bring back to boil and simmer covered until the spears are tender.
This will take at least twice as long as for green asparagus, perhaps more than fifteen minutes.
Remove white asparagus spears, pat dry, and keep warm in dish in oven. Now reduce liquid in pan.
You may leave peelings and ends in water until the liquid becomes insufficient to protect them
from burning. Strain liquid. If quantity more that 1/2 cup, return to pan and reduce to between
1/4 and 1/2 cup. The more concentrated the liquid, the more intense the flavour of your sauce
will be. Now add an equal quantity of cream to the liquid. We use table or coffee cream with
about 1/2 tsp. of cornstarch (mix cornstarch first with cream before adding to liquid). Do NOT
let the mixture boil. Heat until slightly thickened.
Now spoon sauce over the warm white asparagus spears. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then place under the broiler until golden. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Following a light salad, serve this magnificent creation with sautéed fresh prawns from Cowichan Bay and pan roasted potatoes with onions. Be sure to select a crisp white wine from one of the fine wineries in our area to accompany this gourmet meal. It is often served with sauces that enhance the flavor, or cooked, chilled and served with mayonnaise, especially one made with balsamic vinegar. Enjoy! |
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| Pickled Asparagus | |
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Asparagus spears or pieces * 4 cups boiling water 5 Tbsp. sugar 4 tsp. pickling salt |
1/2 tsp. pepper 4 cups cider vinegar 1 clove garlic per jar 6 Tbsp. mixed pickling spices |
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Combine boiling water, sugar, salt, pepper. Stir to dissolve. Add vinegar
and pickling spice and then chill. Wash asparagus. Break at tender part
of stalk and trim spears to slightly less than 1" of height of jars you are
using (or cut into 1/2 inch slices.) Blanch asparagus for 2 minutes (we sort
to size for blanching and adjust time accordingly, about 1 1/2 min. for thin
spears and up to 2 1/2 min. for thick ones). Immerse in ice water and chill
thoroughly. Pat dry and pack into jars. Add garlic clove (optional) and
cover with cold pickling solution to within 1" of top of jar to cover spears.
Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes for both pints or quarts. Start
processing when water returns to boil. Let sit for a few weeks or more to
develop the best flavour. Serve as a pickle or as swizzle sticks in your
favourite tomato juice cocktail. They also make great hostess gifts!
* Notes: 20 lb. of mixed diameter spears for about 9 quarts of pickles; 1 recipe of brine for 11 pints; 2 recipes of brine for 10 quarts of pickles. 1 quart jar holds about 2+ lbs. tightly packed asparagus spears; 1 pint jar holds about 1 lb. tightly packed spears. It takes about 4 hours to do 20 lbs. |
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| Asparagus Stir-Fry | |
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1 lb. Asparagus (ends removed) in 1" diagonal slices 1/2 medium onion, sliced lengthwise 1/4 lb. (less if desired) sliced mushrooms 1 Tbsp. oil 2 tsp. mashed black beans (garlic press works fine) |
1 clove garlic, crushed 1 Tbsp. soy sauce (we like Tamari light) 1/4 cup chicken broth or water (or as needed) 1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in small amount of cold water 1 tsp. sesame oil prior to serving or toasted sesame seeds (optional) |
| Heat oil in wok or fry pan. Add asparagus and stir-fry about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and onions and stir-fry about one more minute. Add black beans, garlic, soy sauce, and small amount of chicken broth or water. Cover. Simmer about 4 minutes or until asparagus is tender crisp. Add sufficient cornstarch paste for desired consistency and heat to thicken. Add sesame oil or sesame seeds if desired. Serves 3-4. Excellent with marinated stir-fry flank steak or chicken strips and rice; also with crab or shrimp omelet. Best with fresh asparagus but also good with frozen asparagus. | |
| Asparagus, Leek, and Potato Soup | |
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3 lbs. asparagus (coarsely sliced) 2 large leeks 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 3 Tbsp. butter or oil (less is fine) 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes |
3 cups chicken stock 1 cup light cream (milk is also fine) Salt and white pepper to taste Chopped chives or asparagus tips (optional garnishes) |
| Trim the root end of leeks, cut off and discard about half of green stems. Slit the leeks several times lengthwise and rinse well under cold water. Chop the leeks and sauté in small amount of oil or butter with onions until almost tender. Add the potatoes, asparagus, and chicken stock. Simmer about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Now in small quantities, blenderize the mixture until smooth (Caution: you may wish to cool it first to avoid burns and a messy kitchen! If you do not have a blender and use a food processor, you will have a less creamy consistency.) For extra smoothness, you may wish to sieve the blenderized mixture to remove any fibrous portions, particularly if you use asparagus ends. Then add cream or milk to mixture and heat just to the boil. Season, garnish, and serve. If you garnish with asparagus tips, cook them (separately) first until tender crisp. This recipe makes approximately ten 1 cup servings and it freezes well. It may separate when reheating (micro-wave works well) but a brief whisking will resolve this. | |
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