Tracks
Asparagus Pasta with Pan Fried Garlic and Lemon
2 pounds asparagus
1/3 cup fresh plain bread crumbs (grind some bread up in a food processor)
½ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 pound spaghetti pasta 1 cup pasta water
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Set aside 1 cup of pasta water near the end of cooking before straining.
Meanwhile snap the ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut asparagus into three pieces each on the bias. Steam until tender crisp, about 2 minutes or so. Set aside in a large serving bowl.
In a skillet on medium heat toast the bread crumbs until golden brown. Stir often being careful not to burn. Add to the asparagus. Next heat the oil in the skillet and add the garlic. Fry until light golden brown for about a minute and add to serving bowl.
Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, and parsley to the bowl and stir. Next add the pasta and pasta water and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Asparagus and Zucchini Farro Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup farro
1 zucchini (thinly sliced)
1 handful asparagus (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup pecorino romano (optoinal)
Directions:
1. Cook the farro as directed.
2. Blanch the zucchini and asparagus in boiling water.
3. Mix the basil pesto, olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Toss every thing to mix.
Roasted Strawberry and Asparagus Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup strawberries (sliced)
1/2 pound asparagus (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup feta (crumbled) [Optional]
1 handful pecans (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard
Directions:
1. Simmer the quinoa in the water until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Toss the strawberries and asparagus in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Roast the strawberries and asparagus in a preheated 400F oven until caramelized, about 10-20 minutes.
4. Assemble the salad.
5. Mix the juices left in the roasting pan with the garlic, honey and mustard in a small bowl.
6. Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss to coat.
(Source: closetcooking.com)
Grilled Asparagus, Zucchini and Halluomi Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful asparagus (trimmed)
1 zucchini (sliced thinly)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 pound halloumi (sliced 1/4 inch thick)**
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 handfuls spinach
Directions:
1. Toss the tomatoes in the olive oil, salt and pepper and place skin side down on a baking sheet.
2. Roast the tomatoes in a preheated 400F oven for 10-15 minutes.
3. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water and then rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
4. Toss the zucchini and asparagus in the olive oil, salt and pepper to coat.
5. Grill the zucchini and asparagus until they have nice grill marked, about 1-3 minutes.
6. Brush the olive oil onto the gill and grill the halloumi cheese.
7. Pour the lemon juice onto the halloumi.
8. Mix the pesto, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl.
9. Toss everything together.
**Halluomi is a cheese that is a mixture of goats’ and sheeps’ milk and sometimes cows’ milk as well. If you want this to be vegan simply nix the cheese or substitute with vegan friendly
(Source: closetcooking.com)
Lemon-Parsley Asparagus
Directions
Lightly coat bunches asparagus in olive oil. Grill 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Mix 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon each lemon zest and juice, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt andpepper in a bowl. Drizzle the asparagus with additional olive oil and top with the parsley mixture.
(Source: foodnetwork.com)
Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 green zucchini, quartered lengthwise
- 2 yellow zucchini, quartered lengthwise
- 6 spears asparagus, trimmed
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded
- 1 yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded
- 1/4 cup basil chiffonade (stack leaves, roll in a cigar shape and cut crosswise into thin strips)
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Israeli couscous
- Vegetable stock, heated
- Hot water, to cover
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and garlic, slowly add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 the marinade over the vegetables and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat the grill. Remove the vegetables from the marinade and grill the vegetables until just cooked through. Cut the zucchini and peppers into 1/2-inch pieces, cut the tomatoes in half. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the couscous and toast until lightly golden brown. Cover the couscous with the hot stock and hot water and bring to a boil, cook until al dente and drain well. Place in a large serving bowl, add the grilled vegetables and herbs and toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature.
(Source: foodnetwork.com)
Asparagus Soup
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 1/2 in pieces
1 leek, sliced
6 cups water
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 tbs. long grain white rice
Salt and pepper taste
1/2 tbs. lemon juice
Directions
- In a large stockpot, combine the water or stock, asparagus ends and separated leek greens. Heat over low heat and allow to simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a medium saute pan, heat the butter and oil. Add the leek ‘whites’, onion and rice and cook until the onion begins to color (about 8 minutes). Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook 10 more minutes.
- Strain the stock of the asparagus and leek ends and return to the stockpot. Add the contents of the saute pan to the strained stock along with the asparagus middles and partially cover the pot. Cook 12 more minutes.
- Transfer soup to a food processor and puree. Strain this back into the stockpot. Season and add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Meanwhile, drop the asparagus tips into boiling salted water and cook until tender (about 4 minutes). Serve the soup with a few asparagus tips on top for garnish.
(Source: allrecipes.com)
Spring Risotto with Lemon, Asparagus and Peas
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 small shallots, about 1/2 cup
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
6 cup vegetable stock
1 pound asparagus
1 cup frozen spring peas
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring your stock up to a simmer. Meanwhile, dice the shallots, and snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. If the asparagus is quite thick, you may want to also peel them. Then chop on the diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces.
In a broad-bottomed saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the shallot and cook until soft. Then add the rice and stir to coat.
One ladle-full at a time, add the stock to the rice and stir constantly until completely absorbed before adding more stock. After about ten minutes, add the asparagus, and continue adding stock until the rice is soft and risotto creamy, about 20 or 25 minutes, adding the peas in the last minute.
Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in zest, juice, and cheese. The risotto will continue to thicken, so you should hurry your dinner guests to the table and serve them as soon as you can.
(Source: pinkofperfection.com)
Asparagus, Spring Onion, and Morel Mushroom Saute
(Sweet asparagus and spring onions go so well with the woodsy flavor of morels. All you need is a bit of butter and some crème fraîche to finish the dish. Prep and Cook Time: 45 minutes. Notes: If you can find fresh morels, definitely splurge on them; the flavor is unparalleled. Be sure to clean both dried and fresh morels well before using, to avoid unpleasant sandy bites. We like to peel the tough outer skin from the asparagus for this dish. This not only makes it prettier but results in more tender stalks. If you like, blanch the vegetables the day before, then wrap them in moistened paper towels, put in a plastic storage bag, and refrigerate.)
Ingredients:
- 1/3 pound fresh morel mushrooms or 1 oz. dried (see Notes)
- 3 bunches asparagus, ends trimmed and stalks peeled (see Notes)
- 3 bunches green onions, white and pale green parts only, root ends trimmed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche**
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If using dried morels, put them in a small bowl, cover with 1 cup boiling water, and let stand 10 minutes. Lift out and pat dry.
- 2. Meanwhile, generously salt remaining boiling water. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and set near the stove. Add asparagus to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from water and immediately plunge into ice bath to stop cooking. Repeat process with green onions. Drain asparagus and onions on paper towels, then cut asparagus spears in half.
- 3. In a large frying pan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add morels, asparagus, and onions and cook 1 minute, tossing gently to coat with butter. Stir in crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until heated through, 4 minutes longer. Transfer to a serving dish.
**I have a recipe for a vegan substitute of crème fraîche here: http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1095910-Vegan-Heavy-Cream-Cr-me-Fraiche-substitute-
