To welcome one of my favorite seasons, a flash-back of recipes featuring one of my favorite veggies: asparagus! Click on the title to see the original post.
(this post will be published during my trip to Brazil, in case of problems with links, I won´t be able to fix them until we are back)
The last Monday of each month arrives faster and faster, proving that Einstein got it right with his Theory of Relativity of time and space. How else could we explain that I joined the SRC just a little while ago, blinked my eyes twice, and here I am, on my seventh post?
I had a complete blast with this month’s assignment: The Culinary Enthusiast! A catchy blog name, by the way. Kelley lives in Chicago with her husband and a dog-child called Maddy, who gets to enjoy the many treats she cooks. See similarities between our households? 😉 Kelley has very creative recipes, and it took me a few days of “stalking” before I settled on my choice. Asparagus Quiche. Perfect for the season, perfect to remember Paris, perfect for a romantic weekend dinner.
SPRING ASPARAGUS QUICHE
(adapted from The Culinary Enthusiast)
1 recipe for pie crust (I used this one)
1 leek (white and light green parts only), halved and thinly sliced
salt and ground black pepper
1/2 bunch (about 1/2 pound) asparagus, tough ends removed, thinly sliced
3 asparagus stalks, trimmed and left whole (optional)
4 slices bacon, cut in large dice
4 large eggs
1 + 1/4 cups half-and-half
Ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (4 ounces)
Prepare the crust of your quiche, using the recipe of your choice. Roll it out to cover your pie plate. Prick the surface with a fork a few times, cover the bottom with aluminum foil, and place dried beans to keep the crust down during pre-baking. Bake in a 400 F oven for 15 minutes, carefully remove the foil, place it back in the oven for 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and reserve.
Bring the oven temperature down to 325 F, placing a rack in the lowest position. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate, allow it to cool, and crumble into smaller pieces. Reserve bacon grease in pan and add the leeks, cook for a few minutes, until softened. Add the asparagus pieces, season with salt and pepper. Cook until the asparagus is crisp/tender, maximum 6 minutes. Let the mixture cool down.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Place pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with half of the cheese; add the asparagus/leek mixture, top with crumbled bacon. Pour egg mixture on top, add the remainder of the cheese.
If you want to decorate the quiche with asparagus stalks, cook them slightly in a microwave for a minute, then place carefully on top.
Bake until center of quiche is just set, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
My main modification of the recipe was to pre-bake the crust, because I’ve had problems with the crust getting too soggy when I omitted that step. I also did not use potatoes in the filling, but I know it would be awesome with them too!
As far as quiche goes, Phil and I had the perfect example at a small, unassuming place in Paris, called “Bistrot du Papa”. Don’t go through the trouble of googleing it, it no longer exists. We were in considerable distress when we attempted to go back on our last visit, only to find an Italian restaurant in its place. Ever since enjoying that masterpiece, I tried to make it at home a couple of times, the traditional quiche Lorraine, but my versions had very little to do with the bistrot’s.
I must say this asparagus quiche was by far the best I’ve made! Will I ever hit “Bistrot du Papa” level? Quite unlikely. They have a different type of cream, a different type of bacon, and then there’s the Parisian aura, hard to duplicate at home. Oh, well… We should have stopped there once a week for the duration of that magical sabbatical year!
We’ll always have Paris…
(great scene from Casablanca, 1942)
Kelley, thanks for a great recipe that brought the best gastronomical memories to our table!
Check out the other recipes in this month’s roundup by clicking on the cute blue frog at the end of this post.
ONE YEAR AGO: Spring Pasta
TWO YEARS AGO: Ice Cream Melts for Mango
Proving that there’s no such thing as too many recipes using asparagus, here is one more: a very tasty and healthy pasta dish to celebrate Spring, even if the season is already waving goodbye. However, here in L.A. the warm weather is dragging its feet, temperatures barely hit the mid 70’s, and I still have to resort to long sleeves shirts. It’s preposterous!
I got this recipe from a new food blog: Inspired Edibles, hosted by Kelly, where you’ll also find all sorts of articles related to nutrition and fitness, two topics I’m quite fond of. Kelly got the recipe from from Ellie Krieger, cookbook author and Food TV host. I made just a few changes to accommodate what I had around the kitchen.
SPRING PASTA
(adapted from this post in Inspired Edibles)
whole-wheat spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken stock (or water)
fresh parsley, chopped
Iberico cheese, grated (or Parmiggiano Reggiano)
Heat oven to 375 F. Cut the tough stems off the asparagus and discard. Cut the stems in half, and unless the stems are very thin, slice the lower half in half lengthwise. Place them in a baking dish, coat lightly with 1 Tbsp olive oil, sprinkle salt, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until barely soft.
Start cooking the pasta according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs olive oil on a large non-stick skillet and saute the garlic and the sun dried tomatoes for a couple of minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the tomatoes start to soften up. Season with a little salt and pepper. If the pasta is not cooked yet, reserve the sauteed mixture over very low heat. Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the skillet together with the chicken stock, reserved asparagus, 3/4 of the walnuts, parsley and grated cheese. Mix well, and warm it all together in medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.
Serve with the remaining walnuts and additional grated cheese on top.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: The more I eat whole-wheat pasta the more I like it. Barilla is my top choice, but this time I used a Trader Joe’s alternative and found that its beautiful brownish color faded quite a bit upon cooking. Not quite sure why that would happen, but it tasted fine, maybe a little less “toothsome” than Barilla.
Surprisingly, there was no Parmiggiano in our home, so I used Iberico, a delicious Spanish cheese, similar to Manchego. Since it’s not a hard, grating type cheese, it melted almost instantaneously in contact with the pasta. Nothing wrong with that, actually, we loved it! But it is a bit messy to grate, next time I’ll stick with the classic Parmiggiano.
Kelly, thanks so much for the inspiration, you obviously picked a perfect name for your blog! 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Ice cream melts for mango
The moment I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking, I knew I had to make it right away. First, because it involves asparagus. Secondly, because they are prepared in a novel way – the spears are shaved as ribbons. I am already quite fond of thinly sliced raw asparagus as in this farro salad, so I looked forward to trying this new (to me, anyway ;-)) method to serve them.
SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD
(adapted from Fine Coking magazine)
for the vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons agave nectar (or 1 Tablespoon honey)
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
salt and black pepper to taste
for the salad:
1/2 lb. thick asparagus, trimmed
2 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup toasted cashew nuts
2 oz. thinly shaved aged Gouda
Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, agave nectar, shallots in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate if not using right away.
Remove the tips of the asparagus and put them in a large bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, shave a stalk discarding the first shaving, which will contain only the thick outer layer. When shaving the first side becomes awkward, turn stalk over and repeat. Add all shavings to the bowl with the tips. Repeat with remaining stalks. Toss asparagus with 1/4 cup of vinaigrette and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Add arugula and toss, adding more dressing if needed to coat the leaves. Top with the shaved cheese and cashews, adjust seasoning and serve right away.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: This salad dressing is very close to perfection. The original recipe used honey, but I’m so fond of agave nectar that whenever I have the opportunity, I use it instead. Once you add the dressing to the shaved asparagus, the transformation is quite obvious: within a few minutes the ribbons start to soften up. Don’t do it too early, or they will get mushy. For obvious reasons, the salad won’t keep at its best for very long, so if you are serving it at a dinner party, keep that in mind. The asparagus tips will retain most of their bite, adding a nice texture together with the cashew nuts.
At first, I thought about substituting parmiggiano or ricotta salata for the cheese component of this recipe. Aged Gouda is not a cheese we normally buy, but its slightly smoked taste worked surprisingly well with the arugula and asparagus. We gave it two thumbs up!
I can see many variations of this recipe during Spring and Summer months. And, I was not the only one who enjoyed it: browsing through “One Perfect Bite” the other day, I noticed that Mary also loved it. Check it out by jumping here.
ONE YEAR AGO: Indonesian Delight
Here’s a clever approach that Michel Richard published in his cookbook “Happy in the Kitchen” : asparagus spears paired with an asparagus “vinaigrette.” If you love green vegetables, as I do, you will delight in this recipe. It’s a model of simplicity because it involves so few ingredients, but you must pay attention to the details, and above all, avoid overcooking the spears. I can’t imagine a better way to welcome Spring!
ASPARAGUS ON ASPARAGUS
(from Happy in the Kitchen)
24 large asparagus
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer lemons)
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
Set aside 4 whole spears for the dressing. Cut off the tough bottom ends of all asparagus spears and set those aside for the as well. With a vegetable peeler, peel the remaining asparagus starting about one inch below the tip.
Have a bowl with ice cold water ready. Steam the asparagus spears for 5 to 6 minutes only, until they are just tender when gently pierced with the tip of a knife. knife. When the asparagus is cooked, lift the spears with a pair of tongs and plunge them in the ice bath to cool, then remove and dry on kitchen paper or a towel.
Make the asparagus sauce: cut the 4 reserved spears into 1-inch pieces. Place them in a small saucepan with the trimmed asparagus bottoms and add ¼ cup water and the olive oil. Bring it to a simmer, cover, and gently cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is completely softened. The water should have evaporated, leaving the asparagus stewing in only the oil.
Transfer the asparagus to a blender or food processor and puree it until completely smooth. Transfer the puree to a small bowl and whisk in the mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Serve the asparagus on a platter, with the vinaigrette in a small dish or ramekin on the side for dipping or dousing the spears.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Peeling the asparagus may seem like work, but don’t skip it. Use large asparagus for this dish, and the peeling will ensure a wonderful texture and even cooking. I enjoyed them as a light lunch with homemade bread and a sunny-side egg, but the dish is also a perfect option as an appetizer at a dinner party. The asparagus lovers among your guests will never forget it!
The sauce or dressing is an excellent adaptation for the tough ends of the spears, so consider making some whenever you cook asparagus. I imagine that it will also complement other dishes, like grilled salmon, with a sprinkle of fresh dill on top. Must try that soon.
The beginning of asparagus season always makes us happy!
ONE YEAR AGO: Sundried Tomato and Feta Cheese Torte
Bewitching Kitchen 