Any favourites out there - Asparagus, especially white asparagus is all the

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rage here now being imported from Belgium and the Netherlands during this short season. We were invited to have an amazing meal with some Belgium friends who brought in asparagus and fallow deer they shot on their property.

We started with a soup (it seemed to be Campbell's with fresh bacon and asparagus) they did not give me that recipe. We then went on to have an asparagus mousse topped with a layer of North Sea Crab and a wedge of smoked trout - from the Ardennes region topped with a fried Basil leaf.

Next was a cream sauce with Ardennes ham, boiled quail eggs/halved and a bread stick. The main course was a piece of fillet cooked rare on the BBQ with boiled jacket new potatoes and fresh poached asparagus with an egg/bacon/sauce.

The meal ended with a creme brulee.

It was fantastic.

All white asparagus.

I'll post two of the recipes next.

 
These recipes I have adapted but tried to keep his way of

explaining. English is not the chef's mother tongue.
The first recipe is not salted. We found this was fine when eating as long as one takes a bit of crab and trout with the mousse - they are quite salty.

1) Asparagus Maritime Belge for 10 persons.

"It's where the famous Werchter Asparagus take a dive in the rivers of the Ardennes (East Belgium) and a splash in the North Sea (Belgium coast West Belgium)"

10 oz North Sea Crab
3 to 4 Smoked Ardennes Trout, with black pepper
10 Basil leaves fried in olive oil
1 pint (1/2 liter) of asparagus mousse

After cleaning (shaving) the asparagus, save the skins and the end pieces of the asparagus and boil in 1 cup of water until reduced by 1/3.
Add 4 tsp of gelatin and let it cool.
When cooled add ½ cup fresh heavy cream..
Divide the mousse between 10 small cups, glasses or bowls.
Put this in the fridge for about an hour.
Layer of shredded North Sea crab (1/3) in the cup/glasses.
Top with a piece of trout straight up in the cup/glass and finally add the fried basil leaf.

2) Asparagus Creme Delight with Ardennes bacon for 10 persons.

"Started as way to have children getting to like asparagus (because it has such a specific taste), became an teaser for a main course to get familiar with the asparagus and the ham (usually a big piece of ham is served with the main course)"

1 ½ LB whole asparagus
20 oz Ardennes ham
½ pint cream
2 dessert (eat) spoons of crème fresh
5 quail eggs, hard boiled, shells removed and halved
Pepper/salt/bouillon

Clean the asparagus; skin and end pieces used in above recipe.
Cut the cleaned asparagus into small inch long pieces.
Boil these pieces in water until they are well cooked.
Put the water and the cooked asparagus pieces in a blender and blend.
Sieve and bring to the boil again.
Stir in cream.
Add crème fresh and simmer slowly (do not boil) until thickened.
Season to taste with pepper or salt.
Pour into small bowls or glasses and allow to cool to room temperature.
Role a slice of Ardennes ham and center this on top of the sauce.
Surround with halved eggs.
Eat with bread stick from Italy!!

 
This is my favorite recipe for asparagus: Roasted Asparagus with Crisp Shallots:

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH CRISP SHALLOTS

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Tbsp olive oil, divided (I use extra virgin)
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed
1/8 tsp salt
A few pinches freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp finely grated orange peel

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450 F (425 F for dark pans).

In a skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat and saute shallots for 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a shallow roasting pan or baking pan, toss asparagus spears with remaining 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake until asparagus is tender, about 8-10 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat.

Add orange peel to roasting pan, mixing well.

To serve, place asparagus on plates and sprinkle with shallots.

Makes 6 servings.

Adapted from my files.

 
Yum. I ahve green spears for the week end and shallots so may do this for guests!

 
Asparagus Flans posted by Shaun years ago. Very elegant; heavenly.

Asparagus Flans Gourmet | April 1996 Yield: Serves 6

2 pounds asparagus
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 3/4 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Line bottoms of dishes or cups with rounds of wax paper and butter paper. (I just used small T-fal cups with no preparation. ) Line a baking pan large enough to hold dishes or cups with a double layer of kitchen towels.

Trim asparagus and cut off tips. Halve asparagus tips lengthwise and cut stalks crosswise into 1-inch pieces. In a steamer rack set over boiling water steam asparagus tips, covered, until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Transfer asparagus tips with a slotted spoon to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain tips well and pat dry.

Steam asparagus stalks, covered, until tender but still bright green, about 8 minutes. Transfer stalks with slotted spoon to paper towels and pat dry well. In a blender purée stalks, cream, tarragon, 3 tablespoons butter, Parmesan, and salt until smooth. In a bowl whisk eggs until combined and add asparagus purée in a stream, whisking until smooth.

Divide mixture among dishes or cups and put on towels in pan. Add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of dishes or cups and bake flans in lower third of oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove dishes or cups from pan and cool on a rack 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan heat asparagus tips in remaining tablespoon butter until heated through. Run knife around edges of dishes or cups and invert flans onto 6 plates. Top flans with asparagus tips.

 
Europe does love asparagus. I've seen hotels celebrate it in a big way in

their restaurants for the entire month of May. I've grown to like them just steamed slightly then with a drizzle of sesame oil.

Or top end wrapped with pancetta spread with cream cheese and shallots and grilled. Terrific starter.

 
So is aparagus the new "undercooked" food fad?

Had a serving of "grilled" asparagus yesterday. It was, effectively, a plate of raw asparagus. No grill marks were even discernible. It had probably been on the grill for a minute.

Nice as a crudite though.

 
I usually blanch the asparagus first, then finish on the grill. I've cooked them...

...completely on the grill from raw as well, but I leave them a lot longer than the cook who grilled your meal.

Michael

 
Asparagus

I just discovered that asparagus is soooo good as long as it's white asparagus (never developed a taste for green asparagus). Mostly here in Holland folks serve the asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (duh...) and chopped hard-boiled eggs, then with a side of good ham or smoked salmon. Just yesterday I tried another popular way to serve asparagus...with a vinegarette. Here's the recipe I used...
Ingredients:
2 lb large white asparagus
4 large eggs
1 small shallot, finely diced
2 tbsp red wine or apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (best quality)
1 tbsp finely cut chives

1. Trim bottom of each spear of asparagus and peel with a vegetable peeler from the bottom all the way up toward the spear top.
2. Bring a saucepan half filled with water to the boil, carefully add the eggs and simmer briskly (not at a hard boil) for 9 to 10 minutes. When the time is up, set the pan in the sink and fill with cold water, changing the water several times untill the eggs are cooled down. When cooled, peel the eggs and finely chop. Set aside.
3. To make the vinegarette, place the shallots, vinegar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Let shallots soften for a half-hour. Stir in the mustard, then whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. (The vinegarette will be very thick. This is good!)
4. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for around 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the asparagus from the pan and set on a clean dishtowel to drain.
5. To serve, place the asparagus on a large platter. (Aspargus can be warm or at room temperature.) Spoon the vinegaratte over the asparagus and toss gently. Garnish with the chopped eggs (usually placed on top of the bottom half of the spear in Holland). Sprinkle with the chives.
This is a variation on a recipe that was in the New York Times.
For wine to go with this, a Riesling or Pinot Blank is perfect.

cheers, Bonnie

 
Interesting technique to soften the shallots with vinegar and salt. Will definitely

try this. Thanks for posting the recipe.

 
It really works!

Barb, I am really not a fan of raw shallots or onions in a salad dressing or even in a salad. (They're just too sharp and overwhelming, I think.) So this also met with scepticism from me. But the time in vinegar and salt did indeed help to soften the onion/shallot flavors. So I wouldn't hesitate, after trying this, to add them now as a raw ingredient to dressing.
cheerio, Bonnie

 
Richard, Michael. I am lost on this too...and when watching...

"chopped" and Masterchef the contestants get penalized if their meat/fish is undercooked. So what is with this 'new' raw in restaurants!!!
Raw shaved asparagus is nice in a salad though.

 
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