Category: Asparagus

Fresh Asparagus with Rouille

Hello friends and welcome to another post on what posh people ate in the 1980s. Spring has sprung in many parts of the world. I have been holding over the recipe for Fresh Asparagus with Rouille for months as I think it is a perfect dish for the season. 

Asparagus with Rouille

Why Is Fresh Asparagus with Rouille Posh Food?

We’ve long considered asparagus a high-end vegetable. 

A scene in The Crown was reshot because the etiquette advisor noticed Dominic West using a knife and fork for asparagus. The proper way is to pick it up with your fingers! This is exactly how I used to eat it back in my single days. Sometimes, when too tired to cook after work, dinner became microwave hollandaise sauce and steamed asparagus dunked straight from the jar.  I just thought I was being lazy!

And I suspect that the inclusion of the word “Fresh” in the recipe title was further 1989 code for “Not that tinned garbage the hoi poiloi eat darling, we only want the real deal”. 

Rouille accompanies the asparagus. This: 

  1. Is a Provençal Sauce
  2. Is Hard to pronounce – its Roy-ee btw
  3.  Contains saffron, a very expensive spice

Any of which would send the Poshometer into overdrive.  All of them?  This could be the poshest recipe ever!  

Finally, this recipe comes from an article called Polo Partying Shot.  Now, I don’t know if you know any polo-playing people?  One of my friends once dated a polo player and he and his buddies were universally vile.  They truly believed that having more money than God entitled them to be arrogant, rude, dismissive, sexist and racist.  They were the worst!  

Asparagus with Rouille2
Dunking with Glee..not a knife in sight!

Fresh Asparagus with Rouille – The Facts According To Me

This was amazing!  It was so tasty!  I love asparagus.  My Nana’s asparagus sandwiches (made with tinned asparagus) were one of my favourite things to eat!!!! And, as above, it was one of my lazy single-girl meals.  So, I am already a fan of asparagus.

But the Rouille?  

OMG….

Asparagus with Rouille4

The Rouille was a game-changer!  I always thought nothing could be better than Hollandaise with asparagus.  The Rouille blew my mind.  Not only was it a beautiful deep, rich yellow but it also had a deep rich flavour that was nothing short of superb.  It’s thick and lemony and garlicky with a little kick from some mustard and cayenne but you could also definitely taste the saffron.  But whilst it is punchy, it doesn’t overwhelm the asparagus.  

Finally, this was ridiculously easy to make! And certain to impress your friends at your next dinner party, picnic or night on the couch!

Fresh Asparagus With Rouille – The Recipe

via the pages of Vogue Entertaining Oct/Nov 1989

Asparagus with Rouille recipe (2)

Asparagus with Rouille6

 

For another lovely take on Spring Asparagus recipes, why not check out my Easter Lily Sandwiches?

Have a wonderful week!

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Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets

I’m not exactly sure where this recipe for Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets came from.  It has obviously been clipped from a magazine and sticky taped to a  piece of paper. But when?  And by whom?  It has been floating around in my collection of “Recipes to Cook” for as long as I can remember.

The recipe gives both imperial and metric measurements which would indicate it comes from some time after 1970 which is when Australia went metric but not too far after because people still understood imperial measures.  So it likely was not me who clipped it but whether it was my mum or my nana or a complete stranger I do not know!

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets

Well, whoever clipped it so it could fall into my hands deserves a round of applause because I thought these were really delicious.  Emphasis on the” I” there.  The fussiest eater in the world was not convinced.  “What’s in these?  It is cream?  It’s not like the usual quiche you make.”

“I used cream cheese”

“It’s too much”

“Well…you did eat six of them….”

Both sides make a fair point here.  The Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets are richer than a normal quiche, primarily due to the cream cheese filling.  But you also don’t have to eat half a dozen of them in one sitting.

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets2

I made these twice recently which is something I rarely do with recipes for the blog.  Usually, I make something, eat it, blog it and move on.   However, the first time I made the tartlets I used fresh asparagus.  I was going to post that version.  But it felt like cheating.  Of course a fresh asparagus and bacon tart was going to be amazing.  It’s asparagus!  And bacon!  And for those of us who like a little bit of rich – cream cheese!.  Would these taste as good using tinned asparagus?

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets3

They weren’t quite as good as the fresh version but they were still really good.  And I am not being an asparagus snob here.  I grew up on tinned asparagus.  My nana’s asparagus rolls which only ever used tinned asparagus are one of my top ten things to eat ever!  The only reason I have not posted that recipe here is that I honestly think I could not do nana’s memory justice as my version would never live up to hers!

Anyway…that’s given me some food for thought…maybe I will post that recipe one day.  But as for the Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets?  They’re really good.  And if you find them too rich?  Stop at four, or two or one.

These also reheat up well and I thought they were also quite nice to eat cold.

They are also perfect fare for a socially distanced picnic in the park!

The Recipe

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets5

 

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets6

Have a wonderful week!

Retro Easter Part 2: Easter Lily Sandwiches

Let’s start with a caveat.

I am perfectly aware that these sandwiches do not resemble Easter Lilies and would, based on their look, be far more appropriately called Calla Lily Sandwiches.  But it’s Easter ok?

And take a look at them.  How pretty are they?  Perfect for an afternoon tea with the girls….

Easter Lily Sandwiches2
Easter Lily sandwiches

And they taste pretty damn good too!!!

There are a few recipes for these lily sandwiches floating about the interwebs. However, most of them use green onions for the stem.  I actually made it that way the first time but was disappointed in the taste.

Chomping on that big stalk made the sandwich way too oniony – I’m pretty sure no one else wants to bite into a huge chunk of onion like that either.  Or suffer the onion breath afterwards. But to use them as decoration only and take them out when it came to eating the sandwich seemed like a waste.  My first thought was to replace the onions with beans but when I went to buy the beans, I was waylaid by some gorgeous baby asparagus spears.

Easter Lily Sandwiches Ingredients
Easter Lily Sandwiches Ingredients

And my version of the Lily Sandwich was born.

If you can only get thicker asparagus you could cut the spears in half down their length.  If asparagus is not available, use beans or celery matchsticks – all of which I think would be preferable to the onion!

Oh and a tip for the frugal.  When you cut the circles out of the bread, don’t throw the rest of the bread out.  Save them to use for what my family call Ox-Eye eggs but is, I believe more commonly called,  Egg in A Hole the next morning!  Any asparagus left over can also be dipped into a runny yolk for a breakfast made in heaven!!!

Leftovers

Oh and if you don’t happen to have a rolling-pin handy, a bottle of your favourite sauv blanc works equally as well.

Impromptu Rolling PinAnd would also be the perfect accompaniment to these sandwiches at your Easter afternoon tea!

Easter Lily Sandwiches3
Easter Lily Sandwiches3.

[yumprint-recipe id=’2′]One more Easter Treat to go…stay tuned!

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Ole, Ole Ole, This Soup is Hot, Hot, Hot (Daring Kitchen)

Hola and Olé friends…and that’s the extent of my Spanish done!

Vintage Spain
Vintage Spain

Let’s talk about soup, baby….ok…I’m stopping with the bad music puns.

Right here.  Right now.

Or..Maybe not…

Green Asparagus Soup

Green Asparagus SoupOur November Daring Cooks’ hostess was Begoña, who writes the beautiful blog, Las recetas de Marichu y las mías. Begoña is from Spain and didn’t want to go with the more common challenges of paella or gazpacho, she wanted to share with us another very popular recipe from Spain that we don’t see as often called Sopa Castellana which is a delicious bread soup!

I chose the Green Asparagus version as not only is it my second favourite vegetable ( behind the far less exotic green bean) but also, currently in season here in the Southern Hemisphere..

Just look at how gorgeous it is!

Green Asparagus Soup Ingredients
Green Asparagus Soup Ingredients

Asparagus
Asparagus

And the soup was pretty awesome too…I love the combination of egg and asparagus and I also love a poached egg in a soup…so, so good.

And saffron in anything just makes it awesome!

Try it, it may just get you dancing just like this!

flamenco 002
flamenco 002

Have a great week!

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Retro Food For Modern Times – You’re Gonna Have To Face It, You’re Addicted To…

I go through phases where I become utterly obsessed with a dish or an ingredient and have to buy it, cook it, eat it, ad nauseam.  Earlier this year it was tahini – I ate more hummus than some of the smaller Middle Eastern countries during that particular phase!  Prior to that, it was the Mary’s Gone Crackers Black Pepper Crackers – who knew that something so good for you could also taste so delish! Before that it was chipotle chillies….I quite obviously have an addictive personality.

You can relax mum. This is not when I confess to the crack/smack/cocaine/gambling addiction.  Sleep safe.  My newest and only…(well, as long as you don’t count things that are French and bubbly) addiction is my version of Mary Meredith’s Television Egg.

Breakfast Televison Eggs
Breakfast Television Eggs

Why Television Eggs?  Who knows.  Mary doesn’t explain her reasoning.  In my version she is bereft of ideas and just shouting out random bits of household furniture and food to see what sticks.  “Dishwasher Cheese.  Coffee-table bacon.  Couch potato…that one’s good. Let’s go with that.  What the fuck do you mean it’s been done?  Ok….Ermmm…..Television Eggs.”

(Oh, and in my mind Mary Meredith has a very strong Scottish Brogue.  I’m not going to go all Irvine Welsh on you…just saying that should be the accent in which she is read).

Whatever you call it.   It’s a baked egg with asparagus and tomato.  I love a baked egg.  What I don’t enjoy is scrubbing baking dishes to rid them of the residue of a baked egg, so I have added my twist.  Instead of serving it in a ramekin with toast soldiers as per MM’s suggestion, I’ve been baking them in a hollowed out bread roll.

I have now made three four versions of this and plan to make many more over the next few days.  But lets start with the original:

Television Eggs Recipe

I added some tarragon and a teeny drop of cream into mine, just because I had them in the fridge and neither was going to last much longer.  Waste not want not right? But it points to one of the strengths of this recipe, you can pretty much do what you like with it!

Television Eggs - Ingredients
Television Eggs – Ingredients

Televison Eggs for Lunch 2
Television Eggs for Lunch 2

You can, of course, cook your eggs longer for a harder yolk or less for a runnier one.

Whilst the original version was great, I then got the bug and started making television eggs out of everything we had on hand.

My variations thus far have been Rocket, Feta, Tomato and Smoked Paprika:

Televison Eggs With Rocket, Feta and Tomato
Television Eggs With Rocket, Feta and Tomato

Television Eggs With Rocket, Feta and Tomato
Television Eggs With Rocket, Feta and Tomato

When I made the rocket and feta version, I also made a breakfast egg to have after my workout at the gym the next morning.  This consisted of Ham, Swiss and Tomato:

Breakfast Televison Eggs
Breakfast Television Eggs

A handy hint I discovered was that, if you cook your television eggs on a rack, the bottom of the bread doesn’t burn.

A rack stops the bread from burning
A rack stops the bread from burning

More Variations to Try

  • Smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese, (maybe with a splash of hollandaise).
  • Mushrooms, chives and goats cheese
  • Spinach and feta, spring onions

Televison Eggs for Lunch 1

  • Leek and Gorgonzola (and yes, for those of you who know me, this is inspired by the best pizza ever!)
  • Baked Beans, cheddar cheese – another breakfast version
  • Chorizo, Potato and tomato – sauté this mixture first.
  • Creamed spinach
  • Sautéed potato cubes, green chilli, red onion and goats cheese
  • Hummus, Chipotle chillies and Mary’s Gone Crackers Black Pepper Cracker Crumbs Sprinkled on top

The Double Yolker
The Double Yolker

Ok, so that last one may be just for me but you get the drift. Cheap, cheerful, easy, healthy-ish and delicious! What more could you ask for?

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Yes, ok, I want that too.

And I believe me, if I was in a position to give it to you, my dear and loyal readers….you’d have to step over my cold dead body to get it.  That would be mine.  All mine.

I’m sharing the eggs though…and they are pretty damn good.

I’m going to be spending my week working through versions of Television Eggs for my lunches.  Oh, and look at the totally awesome retro lunch box  I’m going to buy to put them in:

However you have your lunches, have a great week…and try these eggs!

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PS – Late breaking news – newest post gym version – ham, cheese, avocado, chilli sauce.  Put on very low heat before leaving home. By the time you get back (an hour?) this will be cooked to perfection!

Ham, Egg, Avocado, Cheese and Chilli Television Egg
Ham, Egg, Avocado, Cheese and Chilli Television Egg