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Over the years, several strange gifts have appeared on my
doorstep. Once, just after moving into a new home, the doorstep vanished under
a stunning 12ft Christmas tree ... I took an educated guess and reciprocated
with homemade mince pies, wonderful neighbour.
Less delightfully... in a different house on a stormy Hallowe’en, I went to answer
a loud knock at the door. There, glowing eerily in the darkness, was a large,
elaborately carved Jack-O-Lantern, complete with flickering candle. That was
plain spooky, particularly given how isolated the house was. I slammed and
double-locked the door.
Apart from the odd tray of seedlings/bottle of Baileys from the neighbours, nothing unexpected or mysterious has appeared on my last few doorsteps ... until this week. Just as I was craving healthy greens,
there appeared a bouquet of asparagus. I am utterly clueless as to where this
beautiful bouquet came from, but I know exactly how I am going to deal with it.
I am going to bend each fat fern until it snaps, leaving a
woody stalk (for vegetable stock) and a tender spear.
Then...
My No. 1 way of cooking
asparagus:
I am going to take enough spears to feed two people, anoint them
with extra virgin olive oil, spread them in a single layer on a baking tray,
sprinkle on some Maldon sea salt and a twist of black pepper and roast them at
180°C until the tips start to crisp and brown – about 10 minutes - to be eaten
immediately, forks optional.
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| Awesome asparagus! |
The rest of this gorgeous bouquet of ferns will be lightly
pickled in olive oil and lemon juice as follows:
275mls white wine vinegar
225mls extra virgin olive
oil
100 mls freshly squeezed
lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon, cut into
large strips. (try to avoid the white pith as this can be very bitter)
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh
mint
2 tablespoons granulated
sugar
2 teaspoons fine table
salt
500g asparagus spears
You will also need a 1 litre sterilised jar (run it through
the dishwasher, or wash it thoroughly and dry it in the oven at 100°C).
1
Place
all the ingredients except the asparagus, in a large saucepan over a medium
heat and bring to the boil, stirring once or twice to make sure the sugar has
dissolved.
2
When
the mixture is boiling carefully add the asparagus spears. Cover the saucepan
with a lid and continue to let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes. Remove from
the heat.
3
Transfer
the hot asparagus to the jar, then pass the liquid through a strainer, into the
jar to cover the asparagus. Leave to cool before sealing. Store in the fridge
for up to two weeks, although it is ready to eat straight away – as a starter, or
added to salad. Allow to come back to room temperature before serving to get
the full delicious asparagus/lemon flavour. The pickling juice also makes an
unusual salad dressing.
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| Pickled asparagus won't win any beauty contests but your tastebuds will love it! |
Pickled
asparagus isn’t going to win any beauty contests but oh, your tastebuds will
love it!
__________________
Cork World
Book Fest Food Blogging Workshop - I had a blast in Cork last weekend giving the food
blogging workshop. It was booked out despite the nasty weather and it was a
delight to meet both seasoned and fledgling bloggers and to see that the Irish
Food Bloggers Association was well represented. A huge thank you to my hosts,
Cork City Libraries, and their awesome librarian, Ann Riordan!
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