Tag Archives: Asparagus

Tomato-Based Salad (4)

Posted in Appetizers, light lunch, Salad, Vegan, Vegetarian by

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This is a no-lettuce salad and is literally a selection of green vegetables mixed with some cold, cooked chicken heaped on a base of slices of a ripe, beefsteak tomato.  If you buy a pre-cooked chicken this dish takes no time at all and if you omit the chicken you have a vegetarian/vegan meal. Very easy to transport either as a lunch or to assemble for a picnic.

1 large, ripe beefsteak tomato

4 oz. frozen peas

4 oz. edamame beans

4 oz. asparagus (take the tips and an equal amount of the asparagus stem)

1 cooked chicken breast

Cut the tomato into 4 slices and place on a serving dish.

Place peas, edamame beans and asparagus in a pan and pour over boiling water. Bring to boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain veg. and place in a bowl of iced water to prevent further cooking.

Cut cooked chicken breast into small pieces.

Place veg. and chicken in a mixing bowl. Pour apple cider vinaigrette (see below) over and mix well together.

Place a good serving of veg/chicken mixture on each slice of tomato

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

Whisk mustard and apple cider vinegar together until smooth.

Whisk in the olive oil until mixture is emulsified

 

 

 

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Greens and New Potatoes (4)

Posted in side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian by

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Why serve one or two vegetables when you can a whole lot of veg. that complement each other nicely –  green vegetables with potatoes added into the mix and raw chopped shallot to add a bit of a bite with lemon butter mixed in. When I say butter I don’t mean the real thing as it contains lactose but there is a good vegan alternative – Earth Balance brand – which I have recently discovered. It is best to cook all the vegetables until just ‘al dente’. This dish goes equally well with meat or fish and would also be a good vegetarian/vegan meal.

8 oz. new potatoes – halved or quartered depending on size of potatoes

8 oz. thin asparagus – cut into 2″ pieces

8 oz. broccoli florets

8 oz. frozen edamame beans

8 oz. peas – fresh if possible, otherwise frozen

1 shallot – finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon – Meyer variety if possible (less acidic)

1 good tbsp. butter alternative

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook all vegetables individually in the order given, draining each one and placing in a warmed serving dish, then cooking the next vegetable in the retained water, etc, etc. until all the veg. are cooked.

Add the chopped shallot.

Pour over the lemon/butter alternative and mix well until butter alternative is melted.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Asparagus with Hard-Boiled Eggs and Prosciutto (4)

Posted in Appetizers, light lunch, Packed lunches, Picnic by

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Perfect for an appetizer, light lunch or quickly assembled for a picnic this is a bit of a riff on ‘Asparagus Mimosa’, where hard boiled eggs are pushed through a sieve and placed atop spears of asparagus.  I took thin, baby asparagus spears in season, cooked them until just ‘al dente’ and sprinkled chopped, hard-boiled eggs and thin, crispy strips of prosciutto over the asparagus. I served it with an apple cider vinaigrette.

8 oz baby asparagus spears

2 eggs – hard boiled

3 slices of prosciutto – cut into fine strips and fried till crispish

Place asparagus spears in a skillet and cover with boiling water. Bring to boil and simmer for only a couple of minutes (prick with a fork to see if they are just nicely tender) then drain and run cold water over them till they are cool to prevent any more cooking or, if you prefer cover with cold water and add some ice cubes.

When spears are cool put them in a clean, dry T-towel, pat dry and place on a serving dish. Sprinkle over the chopped boiled egg and the crispy prosciutto.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

Mix mustard and vinegar together until smooth. Add oil and whisk until emulsified.

 

Green and Red Salad with Tomato Dressing (4)

Posted in Salad, Salad Dressings, Vegan, Vegetarian by

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A  looking salad combining baby tomatoes, a tomatillo, baby asparagus and avocado and tossed in a so moreish tomato dressing. A tomatillo looks like a tomato but is green (and sticky, so needs a good rinse) and if you can’t find one just omit from recipe. Dressing is divine!

1 cup of little cubes of avocado (about 1 good sized avocado) – stirred with a tsp. of lemon juice to prevent browning

1 tomatillo – rinsed and cut into chunks

16 cherry tomatoes – quartered

1 pound of baby asparagus – cut off tips and another slice the same length from the stems and save the rest for something else (soup maybe?)

Place chunks of avocado and tomatillo, quartered tomatoes and asparagus in a serving dish.

Combine dressing ingredients (see below) and pour some (not all) over salad or let people add their own amount.

DRESSING

1 cup passata (pulped tomatoes)

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 large clove garlic – grated

 

 

 

A Verdant Salad (4)

Posted in Salad, Vegetarian by

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This is a lovely, colorful, healthy salad and you can take a big pan of boiling water and use the same pan to cook all the vegetables one after the other. You really have to be in the kitchen for this recipe to keep an eye on the veggies as they want to be ‘al dente’. Serve with vinaigrette of your choice or mayonnaise.

4 oz baby asparagus -cut the bottom ends off

4 oz French green beans (the thin ones) – topped and tailed

4 oz yellow waxed beans – topped and tailed

4 oz snowpeas/mangetout

8 baby potatoes

2 eggs

1/2 can of hearts of palm – chopped into pieces

4 anchovies – chopped into pieces (optional)

Place asparagus into boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, remove from pan and place on paper towel to cool and absorb any water.

Repeat with green beans, waxed beans and snowpeas – cooking them one after the other.

Place potatoes and eggs in the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.

Arrange veg. on a platter with the hard-boiled eggs (cut into 1/8ths) and hearts of palm.

Scatter pieces of anchovies over the veg.

 

Spring Green Soup (serves 4)

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian by

Spring Green Soup (serves 4)

Think asparagus, fresh peas, if possible, and leeks cooked in veg. broth/stock and pureed. Soup can be eaten hot or chilled. Looks lovely served in a white soup dish (I wish, mine are in storage!).

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 x large leeks – thinly sliced

1 x bunch of asparagus – cut into chunks

1 cup peas

3 cups veg. broth/stock

Heat tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When sizzling add leeks and cook for a few minutes.

Add asparagus, peas and stock.

Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes.

Puree in food processor.

Braised Spring Vegetables (serves 4)

Posted in side dishes by

Braised Spring Vegetables (serves 4)

This mixture of veg. is bright and colorful and will go well with my spring lamb for Easter. The key thing is not to overcook the veg and to figure out which to add in what order. First into the veg. broth go the carrots thinly sliced, followed by snowpeas/mangetout, then asparagus tips and zucchini/courgettes and lastly peas and sweetcorn (I used frozen but fresh would be lovely). The whole process takes 10 minutes or so.

1 large carrot – thinly sliced

Good handful of snowpeas – topped and tailed

8 oz baby asparagus – but just use the tips

1 zucchini – sliced and then cut into chunks

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen sweetcorn

1 cup veg. broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour broth into skillet and when boiling add carrots. Turn down heat so carrots are simmering and cook for 5 minutes.

Add snowpeas and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add rest of ingredients and cook for a couple more minutes until just tender.

Season and serve.