Asparagus Roundup III

Asparagus Roundup III



I'm starting to have second thoughts about this Asparagus Aspirations thing. The asparagus recipes continue to roll in making it harder and harder to decide which to try next. If I'd given just a little forethought to it, I would have realized that effectively solving the problem of finding a new asparagus recipe would create the new problem of figuring out which asparagus recipe. Another example of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

Last Monday brought a bunch of new recipes starting with Julie, who publishes Kitchenography. This is also the first time she's participated in an online food event and she got off on the right foot with a beautiful plate of Asparagus Fried in Pastella Batter.

Next came a hilarious post from s'kat and the food entitled, "The Asparagus Stalks at Midnight." I didn't know whether to be appalled that anyone would think to describe a noise as "green" or intrigued by the Black Sesame Asparagus. Ah well, S'kat does have a certain tendency toward unexpected adjectives.

Gabriella has recently begun a blog named My Life as a Reluctant Housewife. She offers three recipes, all very simple, but intended for non-cooks to be able to easily prepare for Mother's day. As a mother of twin (male) toddlers, I suspect she's dreaming of a nice holiday. I hope her husband reads her blog.

At his local famers' market, Brandon of Brandon Eats found "an entire stall of verdant, pencil-thin, picked-that-morning fresh asparagus." This is as close to heaven as you can get short of growing your own asparagus and Brandon had the good sense to keep it simple and just roast it.

From Home Recipes, Pascal offers Asparagus au Gratin. He combines two popular complements to asparagus -- Parmigiano and Prosciutto -- to create an easy but richly-flavored side dish. You can taste it just looking at the picture.

"Indian-Chinese stir-fry." Kind of evocative, eh? Imagined ingredients and flavors start tumbling head-over-heels through your mind, don't they? Think lamb, asparagus, mint, cardomom, and coriander. Then log on to Tigers & Strawberries to read about Barbara's creation: Meena's Stir Fried Asparagus and Lamb.

Tana apparently knows every farmer within 150 miles of her. In fact, she calls her blog Small Farms. Living in California, this gives her ready access not only to asparagus, but to lots of other goodies that just make me envious. Her contribution to this little enterprise included fava beans and pea shoots. Hell, I'd be happy if I could just find fresh peas. Check out Pea Shoots, Asparagus, & Fava Bean Salad with Pecorino.

Although this is an asparagus event, the recipe from Cooking Debauchery has left me with a strong hankering to try karaj, which I learned is a smoked pork loin. I should have passed a rule that said recipes like Karaj Wrapped Grilled Asparagus aren't permitted unless I'm sent a taste.

As she promised, Alanna of Kitchen Parade is back this week with another recipe. This time she's made an Asparagus Custard Tart that features fresh tarragon and gruyere -- a great flavor combination.

Ulrike has also returned with a recipe in Küchenlatein using raw white asparagus (something that's become much easier to find here in the US) in a salad with Parma ham. The salad is dressed with crème fraîche and tarragon and garnished with balsamico and pine nuts.

Although I couldn't confirm it, my guess is Rayma and her blog, Culinary Gems, are from India. I base this supposition on the ingredients in her Asparagus Dal. Of course, the dal itself is rather a give-away. For an exotic take on asparagus you need look no further than here.

Are French children required to take photography classes in school? I ask this because Ô Délice, like every other French food blog I've seen, has stunning pictures. In this case the photo is of Pesto d'Asperges Vertes (Asparagus Pesto) and a large appetizing spoonful rests appealingly on a slice of baguette.

My contribution this week is Cold Asparagus Soup made with buttermilk. It's a great way to make use of those woody ends you trim from asparagus because they're too tough and stringy to eat.

If you have a recipe to contribute you can learn more here.

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