Category Archives: Asparagus

Making the most of spring & summer produce

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Strawberries were 4 punnets for $5 at my local market this weekend! I’ve been eating them for breakfast, lunch and dessert. I’m even eating them as I write this post. I’ve mainly just been adding them to other things like muesli or ice cream, but I have a few new strawberry recipes to share. This is a salad that makes the most of late spring asparagus and strawberries… eat them while you can! It also looks very festive, it might work as a side dish for a Christmas meal. Enjoy!

Strawberry & Asparagus Salad with Strawberry Dressing
Adapted from a Robyn Martin recipe. Serves 4 as a side salad.

500g fresh asparagus (2 bunches)
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
2 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider; white or red wine vinegar would also be nice)
2 Tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Break any woody ends of the asparagus spears, and steam them gently in the microwave or on the stove top until they are JUST tender (I microwave on high for about 1 minute). Place them in a bowl of cold water to refresh, then drain well. Chop spears into 3-4cm pieces and set aside.

Put about ½ a cup of strawberries to one side, and chop the rest into halves (or quarters if they’re monsters). Arrange the chopped asparagus, strawberries, spring onions and shallots on a serving platter.

Whiz the reserved ½ cup of strawberries in a food processor or blender. Gradually add the vinegar and olive oil and blend well. Season to taste. I serve it on the side in a jug, and grind more black pepper over the salad to serve.

Asparagus with Roasted Tomatoes

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I came across this recipe in Dish magazine last year. I actually cooked it as part of my Christmas dinner last year, it was perfect with the vibrant red and green! It looks impressive and tastes amazing, but it’s pretty easy… it’s hardly a recipe – more like assembly instructions.

I’ve started thinking about what I’ll cook for Christmas dinner this year (I know, spot the obssessive planner). This one will probably make the cut second year running!

Asparagus with Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Adapted from Dish magazine. Serves 3-4

6-8 vine tomatoes with stalk attached
half a punnet cherry tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus
60g mozzarella
2 Tbsp pesto
fresh basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°(c).  Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the tomatoes on a lined baking tray, sprinkle over sea salt and ground pepper. Roast them for 10-15 minutes, until their skins start to split, then set aside to cool. I didn’t use cherry tomatoes, but if you’ve got them, it looks nice having tomatoes of different sizes on the plate.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus. Steam it in salted boiling water until JUST tender; you still want it crisp, not limp and slimy. Drain the asparagus and Dish suggests refreshing it in iced water. Assemble the drained asparagus on a serving platter.

Drain the mozzarella if it’s in whey. I had bought supermarket stuff in the fridge, but for Christmas I would definitely use lovely fresh mozzarella. I might even get off my chuff and make my own. Slice the mozzarella and arrange it over the asparagus. Arrange the roasted tomatoes over the platter too.

If your pesto is really thick, add a little water to loosen it up. Pop spoonfuls of pesto over the mozzarella and tomatoes. Scatter over fresh basil leaves and season with more sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

You say frittata, I say frittata

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I haven’t posted any of the dishes lately, but I have still been trying to cook at least one ‘proper’ lunch every weekend. No grand three course meals here, but just simple bruschetta, quiche, fancy toasties and what not.

This week I made these little spring vegetable frittata (or is that frittatas?). It’s a simple recipe – although I don’t have a fancy pan that can work on the stove top and in the oven, so I’ll admit I did end up with more dishes than I’d like on a Saturday afternoon.

It was worth it.

You could use almost any vegetables you like in this. I’d suggest keeping the potato, or even swapping it for kumara. A starchy vege anchors a frittata. Then you can really add what you like – I think courgette and asparagus are nice in spring, but let your tastes, budget, fridge contents and energy levels guide you!

Easy Spring Frittata
Serves 2

1 small-medium potato, scrubbed and chopped into small cubes
½ onion, finely chopped
½ capsicum, diced
½ a courgette, coarsely grated
4-5 spears asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped into 3-4cm lengths
handful spinach leaves, roughly shredded
3 eggs (or I used 2 eggs plus 1 white) , lightly beaten
small handful grated cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your grill to about 200°(c). Heat a small frypan over medium heat. Cook the potato first – you have a couple of options here. You can cook it in the frypan until tender, and then add the other vegetables. Or, I was impatient, so just zapped the potato in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then plonked it into the heated pan along with the onion, capsicum, courgette and asparagus. I found I didn’t actually need any oil; the moisture from the courgette created a bit of steam and that was enough to get the party started.

Cook for just 3-4 minutes, until the asparagus is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the shredded spinach and stir for another minute or two, until it wilts. Then pour the lightly beaten eggs over. As I said, I don’t have a multi-function frypan, so I just kind of stirred the mixture around in the hot pan to start the eggs cooking, and then split the mixture into two ovenproof dishes. If you can leave yours in the frypan, cook it kind of like an omelette, tilting the pan to let the uncooked egg to run underneath, until the base is golden. Sprinkle your frypan or little dishes with grated cheese, and place in the oven. Grill until the frittata is golden and just set firm. You can serve hot or cold – it’s yummy with a bit of relish.