asparagus

Asparagus Salad with Poached Egg

~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

It is time for DonQui to try one of the dishes he was particularly proud of at the Dublin cookery school to see if he has mastered the techniques. Taking advantage of the last of the asparagus season he is preparing an asparagus salad with a few interesting twists.

IMG_0008He is particularly pleased by his efforts as he has had issues with poached eggs in the past. Now successfully manages to poach a near perfect egg. Not just once — but twice in a row!

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Ingredients (for 2 people):

A handful of lardons, or better yet smoked Italian pancetta or German speck. If these are hard to find smoked bacon bits could be used instead.

A good splash of sherry vinegar (2-4 tablespoonfuls). You could substitute red wine vinegar but as it will not be as sweet as the sherry vinegar you may need to add a bit of sugar.

Olive or rapeseed oil for the dressing (a ratio of 2 oil to one vinegar is usually about right)

¼ to ½ teaspoon of black mustard seeds

½ teaspoon of dijon mustard. DonQui is a bit iffy about mustard. When it is uncooked he has an almost allergic reaction to it. When cooked, as it is in this recipe, he has no problem at all.

One or two slices of black pudding (blood sausage for those outside the British Isles – see above photo) with outer plastic casing removed. This is not an absolutely essential ingredient but DonQui likes it and finds it gives substance to the dish. He is fortunate that his local butcher makes excellent black pudding.

A bunch of mixed salad leaves.

6-10 asparagus spears

2 eggs — the fresher the better as fresh eggs have thicker whites which set better when poaching.

a drop of vinegar for poaching the eggs (simple white wine or cider vinegar is best. You don’t need the expensive stuff)

A handful of croutons. These are included in the original recipe but DonQui did not think they added much. In future he will leave them off.

Making the Dressing

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Gently fry the lardons to render out the fat.  If you cook the lardons gently they should not need any extra oil to prevent sticking Take out and set to one side.

IMG_1431They are done when the fat starts to turn golden. By this time they will have shrunk considerably. Take out and set to one side. Pour off the excess fat.

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Gently fry the black pudding (a couple of minutes on each side for a ¼ inch slice) then set to one side. Keep warm if you like. Particularly large slices (like the 7cm one in the above photo) should be cut in halves or quarters. This should be done after cooking as if done before, the soft black pudding will tend to fall apart.

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Throw in the mustard seeds and stir around for a minute or two on a gentle heat.

IMG_1435 Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar.

IMG_1438Stir in the mustard until it is dissolved.

Then pour off into a small bowl. Gradually add the oil to the mixture until it is very well blended. Set to one side and let it cool.

Preparing the Asparagus
Gently bend the asparagus spears until the snap naturally. This will happen naturally between the woody end and the tender tip. Discard the wordy ends.

IMG_0822DonQui prefers to grill his asparagus (2-3 minutes on each side).

Another good way to cook them for a salad is to quickly blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling water, then plunge them into cold water to refresh. This stops the cooking process — bringing out the flavour and colour of the vegetable.

The Secret of Perfect Poached Eggs
Bring a pot of water to the boil while you prepare the dressing. Add a drop of vinegar. This will prevent the eggs from sticking together and helps the white to set more quickly and effectively.

Meanwhile crack the eggs into individual small bowls or ramekins

IMG_1426-2Create a vortex in the water by stirring it around, in one direction, with a whisk. You need to create a proper whirlpool in the water.
Drop in the eggs, turn off the heat, put a lid on the pot and leave it alone for 4 minutes.
DonQui had never had any success with poached eggs before trying this method.

IMG_1236 2So far it has worked brilliantly every time.

The Final Dish
Prepare the salad by heaping the leaves into the middle of a plate and dressing them. DonQui has found that adding the lardons to the dressing adds extra interest and flavour. Alternatively they could be mixed in with the leaves before dressing.
Arrange the asparagus, black pudding, and croutons around the leaves.
Place the poached egg on top.

Enjoy!

Variations

DonQui has come to love the rich flavour of the sherry vinegar/bacon/mustard dressing. So he has experimented with other ways to use it after making a batch.

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For this delicious summer salad he uses fine slices of smoked duck breast in place of the asparagus, poached egg and black pudding. The dressing is exactly the same but the addition of a handful of chopped toasted walnuts amongst the leaves and a few fresh raspberries around utterly transforms it (not to forget the duck!). It reminds DonQui of the sort of dish he might expect to find in the south of France.

 

What to do with the Mascarpone?

~ donquioaty ~ 2 Comments

DonQui’s previous broad bean risotto recipe requires a dollop of mascarpone — a deliciously decadent Italian mild, creamy cheese. It is an essential ingredient as without it the risotto will not have the same deep, rich, creamy taste.

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This leaves a small problem — what to do with the left over mascarpone? The smallest container of mascarpone DonQui could find was 250g and yet he only needed a couple of tablespoons for his risotto.

He has several ideas. Mascarpone is great in deserts and is a key ingredient for tiramisu. This is a dish DonQui has not yet attempted. Mascarpone is also excellent accompaniment to summer fruits such as strawberries and raspberries in place of cream. But don’t get excited that it might be a low calorie alternative to cream as the fat content is similar to clotted cream and more than whipping cream.

Pasta is another option and this is what DonQui goes for. He cooks up some wide egg noodles. When done he drains them, puts them back into the pot, adds a splash of white wine and then stirs in all his left-over mascarpone along with some salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese and a handful of chopped roasted hazelnuts.

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He serves this with grilled asparagus on top with some fresh sprigs of thyme and an extra sprinkling of hazelnuts and parmesan cheese. Simple in the extreme this dish is absolutely delicious — as good or better than the broad bean risotto.

DonQui could have used something other than asparagus — perhaps sprouting broccoli or even french beans. As it is still in season and is also grown locally, asparagus is what DonQui goes for.

 

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He grills the asparagus rather than boiling or steaming it. He finds it tastes so much better this way — simply sprinkled with olive oil and put under the grill for roughly 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. He has more to say on asparagus in a previous blog post.

DonQui adapted this recipe from Epicurious’ 20 Ways to Use Mascarpone where one will find other ideas.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

It is Asparagus season.

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With some of the best asparagus in the country grown up the road from his home stable by Sea Breeze in Wrentham on the Suffolk coast, DonQui decides it is time to have some.

His usual way of having asparagus is grilled with shavings of parmesan cheese. This time DonQui decides to try his hand at hollandaise sauce — something he has never cooked before.

Egg based sauces have tended to frighten DonQui a little. The idea of slowly stirring eggs at just the right temperature so that they do not curdle or scramble has always seemed just a little to tricky. Today he decides to put his fears to one side and give it a go — and very glad he is too. It is not as difficult as he feared and result is absolutely delicious.

Here is his recipe. It is heart-stoppingly calorific so if you worry about such things you should look away now and make yourself a healthy plain salad. DonQui can almost feel his arteries hardening just by looking at the lovely buttery sauce.

Ingredients

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2 egg yolks. Separate the yolk from the white by cracking the egg in half and transferring the yolk back and forth between the shell halves, allowing the white to drip down into a bowl if you wish to use it later for a meringue or something else which needs egg whites only.

125g unsalted butter

a dash of white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

a splash cold water

a pinch or two of salt to taste

a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to taste

a squeeze of lemon juice (less than 1/2 a lemon) to taste

Method

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Gently melt the butter in a saucepan, skim any solids from the top and put to one side, keeping it warm enough that it does not begin to solidify.

Beat the egg yolks, adding the vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and water in a heat proof bowl or jug that will fit into a saucepan. Better not to add too much salt at first as more can be added at the end but too much cannot be taken out.

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Place the bowl in a saucepan of water that has been brought to the boil and kept to a very low simmer. Whisk continually for 4-6 minutes until the egg mixture begins to thicken.

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Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the melted butter, bit by bit until it’s all nicely mixed in to become a lovely creamy sauce. Season with a few squeezes of lemon juice. The lemon really transforms the sauce but DonQi doesn’t want it to overwhelm so he tastes it as he adds the lemon juice drop by drop. He tastes for salt and pepper at the same time and adds more if necessary.

DonQui is delighted with the result. At first he wasn’t sure if he had cooked the egg mixture long enough as it seemed a little runny when he took it off the heat. As it cooled down it began to thicken and in the end it turned out to be absolutely perfect. He has read that if the egg mix starts to thicken too much then a dash of cold water can save it. He did not have to resort to this.

Many recipes call for the addition of a bit of mustard. DonQui doesn’t really like mustard and he finds that a bit of cayenne pepper is a good substitute, leaving just a little tingle of heat on his tongue.

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Poured over grilled asparagus it made for a lovely dish with the addition of a sprinkling of sea salt a couple of grinds of black pepper and chopped hard boiled egg.

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Grilled asparagus tastes so much better than steamed in DonQui’s opinion. It is dead simple to do. Simply lay them in a baking dish, sprinkle with olive or rapeseed oil and place under the grill for 3 minutes on each side. Then sprinkle with sea salt flakes and a bit of ground black pepper.