As promised in last week’s blog, Charlotte Scott (Food & Beverage Development Director at KUDOS our on-site catering partner) is back this week with a couple of asparagus recipes.
Asparagus purée
Ingredients:
- Asparagus stalks, from one bunch of asparagus
- 1 # white onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 50ml white wine
- Salt and pepper
Recipe:
Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a thick bottomed saucepan and then add the onion and the asparagus stalks. Sweat for 10 mins, continuously stirring so that they don’t catch. Add the lemon juice, white wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the lid on the saucepan and cook for approx. 15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is soft (this may take longer depending on the age of the asparagus, so just check using a knife and if they need longer, just add a touch of water so that they don’t run out of liquid). Once cooked, place the contents of the saucepan in a food processor and blend until smooth. You will have lots of stalk that won’t blend, as it is so woody, but don’t panic – place the mixture in a sieve over a large bowl and push through, using the back of a spoon. Discard of any woody bits that won’t go through. Place the purée in a serving bowl and refrigerate until required. It also freezes well and it’s best to store in small pots, so that you can just defrost what you need (keeps up to 3 months).
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Another recipe that I love to make using asparagus, is a very simple yet delicious asparagus tart. This is so quick and easy to make, yet tastes and looks amazing – great for a summers lunch in the garden (weather dependent!).
Asparagus and Parmesan tart
Ingredients:
- 250g puff pastry
- A little flour
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp. wholegrain mustard
- 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan
- 1 # bunch asparagus, trimmed
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
- Margarine, for greasing
Recipe:
Heat the oven to 180c and grease a baking tray. Sprinkle the flour on to a clean surface or board and roll out the pastry to approx. 15 x 30 cm, roughly the thickness of a £1 coin. Transfer the pastry to your baking tray and score a 1cm border, making sure that you don’t go all the way through the base. Spread the wholegrain mustard evenly across the pastry, leaving the border clean. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tbsp. of the grated parmesan. Place the asparagus along the length of the tart, alternating the direction of the tips. Brush with the olive oil, sprinkle with cracked black pepper and the remaining grated parmesan. Bake for 20 mins and serve warm.
For inspiration for new recipes, then there are a couple of websites that I would recommend. There’s the Great British Chefs website, which is great for foodies and for slightly more in-depth recipes. If you are after something a bit simpler, then you really can’t go wrong by using the BBC Food website.
