April 6th
2006
Hello spring. Finally. Well, sort of, it's certainly April for starters. As much as I - and probably everyone else - hate Mondays, I double-hate Mondays that come with a constant mix of rain- and thunderstorms, a pinch of hail showers and merely a tiny bit of sunshine - just enough to let us know "Hey I'm still here". What a tease. Now we have Wednesday and while I'm typing this, the roof tops are getting white again, it's snowing! Can you believe it?!
In spite of the horrible weather mix, the overwhelming proposition of seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables at the Viktualienmarkt stalls seems to stand for a good and proper spring season - God knows when. Colorfully and temptingly arranged rhubarb, peas, wild garlic, Swiss chard, radish and asparagus now occupy prime spots on all their tables. There's a German idiom that I've been living up to since I can remember: "Na, waren Deine Augen mal wieder größer als Dein Mund?" my mum would have asked me (word by word: "Eyes bigger than your mouth?", or more commonly "Biting off more than you can chew ..."). So it's no surprise, that I could not just pass by all the fresh green temptations and subconsciously ignoring my shopping list items for a second -before I knew it- I found myself additionally equipped with fresh peas, small pink radishes and two bunches of green asparagus. Not having a clue what to do with all those extra vitamins, of course.
My recipe management system (colorful Post-Its in all my cookbooks) is anything but reliable, although I use every available color, I still misinterpret my own system. Was PINK for desserts or starters? And why have I tagged a green salad recipe BLUE and not GREEN ? Ah, right, I ran out of GREEN last time... What's a tad more reliant are my powers of recollection. Which are truly fantastic - well, for all things unimportant. I still have memorized telephone numbers from my best friends at first grade or all the horses' names I have fallen in love with as a teenager. And thankfully it's also a great help in narrowing down the number of books I need to go through to find that one mouthwatering dish I ran across weeks or even months ago: such as this asparagus tart from Alistair Hendy, which has been haunting me for quite some time. 'Made a mental note when I first saw it, but never got to it. Until now.
Green Asparagus Tart with Potatoes
Cut off the asparagus' tougher stalk ends (about 1-2 inches/3-5 cm). Blanch the asparagus briefly for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling, lightly salted water, then transfer to a bowl with ice water (to preserve its fresh green color and overall quality).
Peel and thinly slice potatoes (3-4 mm) and add to a pot with a few spoons of olive oil. Carefully pan-fry potatoes over low to medium heat for about 5-8 minutes (don't let them brown). Then remove the slices from the pot.
Grease a suitable rectangular tart (8 inch/20 cm) form with butter, arrange puff pastry and form a small rim. Using a fork, stab little holes all over the arranged puff pastry. On top, add a layer of potato slices and sprinkle with grated Gruyère.
Combine eggs and Crème double in a bowl, season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg and pour over the potatoes/Gruyère. Now arrange asparagus spears equally across the tart. You may want to brush the tart edges with melted butter or egg yolk to let it gain a nice golden color while baking.
Bake at 180°C (360°F) in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes.
Resume: Although I tweaked the recipe quite a bit, the outcome was a perfect cold starter for every spring meal, the consistency is pretty firm after chilling it, so we didn't even need any silverware to eat it up. Great finger food! The still crisp asparagus works incredible well with the cheese/potato layer underneath, what a yummy combo!
But hold on, I had bought even more asparagus, so I had to come up with another recipe. The choice was O's; he took one of my recent cookbook bargains, skimmed through it in less than a minute and handed me the book. "This one's got a poached egg on top, I can't settle for anything less!" Ok, ok, ok!
Asparagus Risotto with Poached Egg
Blanch the asparagus in boiling, lightly salted water for about 5 minutes, transfer to a bowl with ice water, then drain and cut it into small pieces. Set aside.
To poach the eggs, use a pan that is at least 3 inches deep so there is enough water to cover the eggs. Bring water to a boil, add a tablespoon of vinegar (the vinegar should help the egg to keep its shape) and stir briefly to create a "whirlpool". Slip egg carefully into its center and simmer for about 3-4 minutes depending on the size of the egg. Remove from water with slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl with warm water. Repeat process with the other egg(s).
Note: The best eggs for poaching are the freshest eggs you can find. If eggs are more than a week old, the whites tend to thin out. If this happens you could always cut off some of the excess egg white, just be careful to not damage the - still liquid - egg yolk.
Add the shallots and half of the butter to a sauce pan and sautée for about 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent (don't brown them). Add the rice and stir over moderate heat to coat the grains with the butter.
Now add a cup of the warm broth and stir gently until almost all of the broth is absorbed. Add broth one cup at a time, continuously stirring and having an eye on the pan to not let the rice stick to the bottom. Do so for about 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and creamy. Fold in the grated Parmesan, some chopped parsley, the remaining butter and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Now add the asparagus, allow to rest for a minute or two.
Serve with a drained poached egg on top and additional Parmesan shavings.
Resume: There is a *best* moment when eating this risotto: just after poking your spoon into the poached egg, seeing the orange yolk smoothly oozing out once broken. I wished I had made an extra poached egg to go with my risotto! Spring, I'm ready, so bring it on!
PS: In case you're thinking "What's up with the photo of the peas, am I missing somehting?", well, the peas looked so wonderful, but the tarts didn't exatcly turn out taste-wise the way I had envisioned them to (a little too bland). And the little radishes simply got nibbled away...
Green Asparagus Tart with Potatoes
Recipe source: Genießen mit Gästen, Alastair Hendy, p.45, adapted
Prep time: 20min., baking: 25-30min.
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Ingredients (serves 3-4):
a bunch of green asparagus (about 12 pieces)
2 large potatoes, sliced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
puff pastry, cut into shape
75g Gruyere, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml Crème double
a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
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Asparagus Risotto with Poached Egg
Recipe source: Food for Lovers, p.41, adapted
Prep time including cooking: 30min.
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Ingredients (serves 2-3):
250g green asparagus
0,75l chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 free range eggs
75g butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
250g risotto rice
30g Parmesan, freshly grated
coarse sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
to serve:
Parmesan cheese shavings
fresh parsley, finely chopped
Ah, spring veggies. I have missed them.
Gorgeous photos! Did you use a lens baby on the photo of the peas?
What a beautfiul dish! I love the way it slices. Can't wait for the local asparagus to come in so I can try this! Thanks!
Outstanding photography looks like something out of a magazine. Looking forward to trying the recipe. Really enjoy your blog.
Che bello!
I actually can believe the snow because here in Canada we're having the same experience. It was warm last week and this week we have snow ... AGAIN!
But your asparagus and potato has cheered me up very much!
Grazie!
delish - great stuff....love the picture of the peas. What a great shot. thanx for makingm y otherwise dull day
Gorgeous. Seeing spring produce for the first time each year really is fantastic. For me, I finally know it's spring when I go to the market on Saturday to find mountains of asparagus at the farmers' stalls.
Your peas remind me of the pea liquid ravioli I just posted about the other day.
I also love asparagus risotto, though I've never tried it with a poached egg. I'm used to adding some lemon and topping it with seared scallops.
Very nice!
Asparagus is truely a symbol for spring and the fresh new produce...isn't it? I am really looking forward to experimenting with asparagus, and your recipes seem an excellent place to start! I am completely jealous that you have access to fresh peas...they are one of my fav's ( I must admit, I have many favorites)
The tart really looks amazing! A great Easter recipe!
The first picture is absolutely stunning! Wow, great shot! Nature's products are simply beautiful, aren't they? I'm new to your site and already in love :)
Fabulous photography! I never knew peas could look so tempting! Thxs for providing this beautiful site and mouthwatering recipes. Now I'll have to go to the Farmers market and buy some green asparagus. The poached egg got me at first glance!
Recipes like this with the accompanying pictures make me SO happy! Super belles!
If it snowed for you yesterday, be reassured you are not alone. We had snow yesterday too but today the sun is back out again and I can hear the birds. Go figure!
And we have the same expression in French (j'ai les yeux plus grands que l'estomac) (I have eyes bigger than my stomach)
And also, would you happen to have the ISBN for the Food for Lovers book, or the author? Not that I need more cookbooks but,..;-)
These really couldn't be more beautiful - I don't know whate else to say, really.
The asparagus tart with potatoes looks divine - I bet it tastes as divine as well!
Love your use of asparagus, absolutely stunning! Check out my most recent post invloving asparagus as well! What a great vegetable!
http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/
The photos are too much! I can almost taste them.
I am drooling on my keyboard. Beautiful photography. Perfection is found in the asparagus risotto with poached egg.
Thank you.
Your photography is inspiring and makes the recipes even more tantalizing.
Just to add a note: here in the United States, we say, "My eyes are bigger than my stomach" which seems very similar to the French.
Das Erbsen-Bild ist der Wahnsinn! Und erinnert mich daran, dass ich schon Ewigkeiten keine frischen Erbsen mehr ausgepuhlt habe, wird mal wieder Zeit. Danke für all die tollen Ideen.
Wunderschöne Rezepte! Danke. Ich habe mich kürzlich auch am Eierpochieren versucht. Es ging in die Hosen, da das Ei zu alt war. :-(
Wow, that looks delicious! As always, your photography is stunning! I'm in South Africa, and we are going into autumn now, I feel like I have let summer slip by without enjoying it properly :(
Bin nur durch Zufall auf eure Seite gestossen und gleich hängengeblieben. Bin selbst nicht unbedingt der große Koch (überlasse es meiner talentierteren Frau), aber die Bilder machen echt Lust auf mehr. Klasse!
that's the most perfect picture of peas i've ever seen in my entire life!
Wow, that asparagus tart looks amazing!
The risotto! I love risotto! I could almost taste it just looking at that picture!
Good lord! I was drooling so severely there. Gorgeous photos, my favouritest vegetable in the world in three delectable recipes ... what are you trying to do? Kill me? If so, keep up the good work.
That poached egg on the risotto .... Thank god I didn't use all the green asparagus last night. I am off to the kitchen. Did you know that vine&olii in Unterföhring has the absolutely stupendous Acquerello ristto rice? For me by far the best risotto rice there is.
Buon appetito
ralph
"There is a *best* moment when eating this risotto: just after poking your spoon into the poached egg, seeing the orange yolk smoothly oozing out once broken." - Even if there wasn't the picture, your food-poetry does the job as well, Nicky: I have to try that, because a spoonful of this sounds like a perfect combination in the mouth. Looking at the peas, the tart and your comment -maybe all that ingredients and the baking are too much for such delicate spring peas? What about a pea risotto with less cheese, but maybe with aromatic herbs - dill, tarragon or even mint? Or just an omelette of that kind?
Hi L, Hmmm, my first response would have been, yep, we used a lens, baby (haven't come across the term before). But no, we haven't used one for this shot, O. took it with our macro lens :)
Paige , Ivonne, Bea
'Glad I'm not the only one complaining about late snow. News on that end: The weather forecast is predicting even more snow for today...Arrrgh!
Bea, You now can find a link to the book in the section labeled "currently enjoying" on the right. It's pretty small, as is the price, so I just had to add it to my collection... We cookbook maniacs need to help each other, don't we!
Rob, Just checked out your pea liquid ravioli and showed them to O. Since we purchased the El Bulli book he wants to try something similar - while I see it more like setting up a chemical laboratory. I think you guys need to talk - your results looks fantastic!
Hag, I was pretty surprised, that I already found fresh peas on the market, not just at one food stall, almost everywhere (it's still early for local ones). They bring back memories of my grandma's huge potager, where I used to steal a few every now and then and ate them straight away.
Tommy, Thanks for the kind words and stopping by. Isn't it funny how some expressions seem to exist in every language. There must be a reason for it...
Hallo Zorra, Ich hab beim Eier pochieren auch mehr schlechte als gute Erfahrungen gemacht... Da es sich hier allerdings im weitestens Sinne um einen technischen Vorgang handelt, hab ich das jetzt auf Oliver abgewälzt. Ich muss ihn zwar immer davon abhalten, eine komplette Versuchsanordnung auf die Beine zu stellen (Erinnerungen an meinen Physikunterricht werden wach), aber solange das Ergebnis so vielversprechend aussieht, kann ich damit leben ;)
Noodle, South Africa - sigh. We've never been, but it's been on our list of places/areas to visit for a long time.
MM, Killing you? Really not our intention - **hurries off to change the d:d disclaimer** ;)
Ralph, Thanks for your suggestion on the risotto rice, we'll have to try it! We've never been to Aquarello before, but I heard pretty good things about their kitchen!
Sebastian, I'll take you up on that one, a delicious pea omelet served in a cozy backyard somewhere in Haidhausen...how about that? I'm not sure if it can possibly beat your fish curry though!
Beautiful! I never thought to arrange whole asparagus all in a row. So dramatic. I think I will do that on a long pizza or in a recipe I have that uses soy milk and whole wheat flour and dijon mustard for the "dough" instead of the cream and cheese. Thanks for the inpiration!
wow, great pictures nicky! we tried the risotto last night which was so tasty...but like you sad, we could have done with more eggs, I just love the runny yellow! trying the asparagus tart this weekend for brunch...so much lovey food to cook :-) happy easter
eva
Super ich werde gleich morgen losfahren und mir Erbsen und Spargelkaufen. Obwohl ich gestern schon Spargel hatte aber so wie Ihr das gemacht habt werde ich es auch ausprobieren. Gruß Thomas
Great picture!!!! but i'm wondering for the rosotto how much ck or veg. stock you would have to put in?? I think u got a typo on that part. It looks really good I want to make this recipe soon..hope to get the reply.
Shanna, The amount of stock we described (0,75l) is really what we used, but each and every risotto rice may be different in its ability to absorb the liquid. Just to be on the safe side, take one liter and stop adding when the rice has got your desired texture.
Hey- I made the asparagus risotto with poached egg for Easter Brunch recently and it went over smashingly well.
[...] Liz recently pointed me to a gorgeous food blog, new to me, with a recipe for an asparagus tart. I love asparagus, I love pastry, and the beautiful photographs made this dish look amazing, so of course I had to try it. Lacking creme fraiche and Gruyere, I used heavy cream and a mix of Parmesan and Havarti (weird, but good), and it turned out just fine. I know my asparagus is not as neatly laid out as in the original recipe (I couldn’t help wanting to load it up, since asparagus is one of my favorite things—so the cross section of my pastry is not quite as tidy as the original.) Please don’t judge me. All in all I was very pleased: you can’t really go wrong with a creamy, cheesy quiche-like pastry, and the potato and asparagus (which gets a nice roasted top as the pastry browns) complement each other very well. Good hot or cold. [...]
[...] This green asparagus tart with potatoes over at delicious:days is just right for spring, and my OCD-ish brain is very pleased with the way the asparagus looks, lined up perfectly, after the tart is cut into strips. [...]
thanx, nicky
I'll definitely give it a try....:)
[...] to me.. *swoon* Asparagus Risotto with Poached Egg. Nicky does it again - and as per usual - with 2 amazing recipes using my most favorite veggie in all the world, Asparagus. (look at that egg all splooshey on that [...]
Wow, that tart is pretty indeed. Fantastic work, as usual. Here in the US it snowed overnight, and we were also a bit shocked, as it was warm enough to be June last week!