Half classic margerita, half asparagus, pesto and mozarella.
Red and Green Pizza
19 06 2010Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: asparagus, pesto, pizza
Categories : General
Cornish Breakfast
26 05 2009Spent the weekend in North Cornwall walking, eating out and a spot of surfing. The weather was perfect, but the crowds were far from perfect. Just up the road one of the neighbours keeps chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. All roaming freely about the back garden They sell the eggs. So I wandered up the road first thing, picked up a few duck eggs, then served them up boiled with toast and asparagus soldiers in the garden. The perfect start to a Sunday.
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Tags: asparagus, breakfast, eggs, soldiers
Categories : General
Spaghetti with Peas, Asparagus and Mushrooms
21 05 2009
Simple, quick and summery, but probably didn’t really need the mushrooms as they made it a little heavy.
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
250g asparagus – chopped into chunks
about a teacup full of frozen peas
8 mushrooms – chopped
1 dried red chili – crushed
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti
Bring a pan of water to the boil then throw in the peas and asparagus and boill briefly until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them overcooking.
Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the pack. I haven’t put the quantity here as it depends how many you are cooking for and how hungry they are!
While the spaghetti it cooking, heat a large frying pan. Add the oil, garlic, chili and mushrooms. Fry until mushrooms tender, then add the peas and asparagus. Fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes.
Drain the spaghetti, return to the warm pan then add the vegetables from the frying pan. Stir and serve with grated Parmesan.
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Tags: asparagus, mushroom, pasta, peas, spaghetti
Categories : General
Simple Asparagus Tart
15 05 2009
The disappointingly short English asparagus season is upon us once again and everywhere I look I see recipes for asparagus – grilled, baked, boiled, in risotto, in quiche, with pasta. Although this is hardly the most original recipe ever invented it is very simple, quick to make and delicious served alongside new potatoes and and a light watercress salad.
Boil the asparagus in water for a couple of minutes till tender then refresh under cold water.
Take a sheet of puff pastry. Place on a large baking sheet and gently score around the edge – about 1cm in from the edge with a knife. This will help the edge to rise around the filling creating a nice border to the tart. Then prick all over the base with a fork. Bake in the oven at 200C for about 10 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Now take a couple of knifefulls (is that a word?) of Boursin, Roule or similar soft cheese and smear over the centre rectangle of the pastry. Lay the asparagus neatly on top, then top the shavings of pecorino or parmesan. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, salt, pepper and maybe a crushed dried chili. Brush the edges of the tart with a little milk or egg, then return to oven and bake until the cheese bubbles.
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Tags: asparagus, pecorino, puff pastry, tart
Categories : General
Mezze (of sorts)
30 04 2009What with summer well and truly on its way, what better than a Middle Eastern style Mezze to really get in the mood. I had to add a few twists and compromises based on what I had in the house to cook with at the time. This worked really well together and took about half an hour to prepare it all.
Clockwise from the bottom left
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Toasted Pitta Bread
Ful Medames
Griddled Halloumi
Fried asparagus with chili
I’m not going to post a recipe for toasted pitta bread or griddled halloumi but the I’ll write the others up when I have some time. Admittedly the Ful Medames doesn’t look too appetising here but tastes delicious. Ideally this should be topped with a generous helping of chopped tomatoes and parsley but I used all I had making the taboulleh. Not bad for a Tuesday night after a day’s work and guitar lesson.
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Tags: asparagus, beans, mezze, quinoa, summer, taboulleh
Categories : General
Down on the Allotment
8 04 2009I’ve just been to the allotment. I thought it would be a nice evening to do a bit of weeding and cut some cavalo nero for supper that I recently netted to protect from the greedy pigeons. The pigeons hadn’t got any but the whole lot had gone to seed so needed pulling out and composting. I did manage to do a spot of weeding and planted my asparagus crowns. Felt like I deserved some refreshment after all that hard work.
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Tags: ale, allotment, asparagus, beer
Categories : allotment
Summer is almost here
6 04 2009
First asparagus of the year. Delicious fried gently in good quality olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Perfect with macaroni cheese.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: asparagus
Categories : General
