Asparagus Risotto with Parma Ham
A wonderful version of a risotto made with green asparagus which are bang in season. Leave out the Parma ham to make it vegetarian.
English
Serves 2
Ingredients
30g butter
1 onion
1 organic vegetable stock cube
1 bunch green asparagus
150g risotto rice
50g grated Parmesan
4 slices Parma ham
3 tablespoons olive oil
200ml white wine
salt and pepper
Method
Place the stock cube in a pot with 1 litre water and bring gently to the boil. Finely chop the onion, cut off the tough ends of the asparagus stalks and cut half the asparagus into pieces.
Add the whole asparagus to the pot of stock and boil gently (blanche) for 3 minutes. Remove them from the pot and set aside.
Heat a pot over medium heat with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion and sweat for 7 minutes. Add the rice and asparagus pieces to the pan and stir well.
Add the white wine and allow to reduce until it has been absorbed by the rice. Add the stock, a spoonful at a time, to the pan. When the rice has absorbed the stock, repeat the process. Make sure to stir often.
After about 15-20 minutes, when the rice is al dente, add the butter and ¾ of the grated Parmesan. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill the whole asparagus for 2-3 minutes, followed by the Parma ham for 1 minute.
Divide the risotto between 2 plates. Lay the grilled asparagus and Parma ham on top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve.
Nederlands
voor 2 personen
Ingrediënten
30g boter
1 ui
1 biologisch groenten bouillonblokje
1 bundel groene asperges
150g risotto rijst
50g geraspte Parmezaan
4 plakjes Parmaham
3 eetlepels olijfolie
200ml witte wijn
zout en peper
Bereiding
Doe het bouillonblokje in een pan met 1 liter water en breng zachtjes aan de kook. Snijd de ui fijn, snijd de harde onderkant van de asperges af en snijd de helft van de asperges in stukjes.
Voeg de ongesneden asperges toe aan de pan met bouillon en kook zachtjes (blancheer) voor 3 minuten. Haal ze uit de pan en zet opzij.
Verwarm een pan op medium vuur met 3 eetlepels olijfolie. Voeg de ui toe en smoor voor 7 minuten. Voeg de rijst en de asperge stukjes toe en roer het mengsel goed door elkaar.
Voeg de witte wijn toe en laat het inkoken totdat de wijn door de rijst is geabsorbeerd. Voeg steeds een lepel bouillon toe aan de rijst als de bouillon geabsorbeerd is, blijf roeren.
Na ongeveer 15-20 minuten, als de rijst al dente is, voeg de boter en 3/4 van de geraspte Parmezaan toe. Roer ingrediënten door elkaar en breng op smaak met zout en peper. Verwarm een grillpan op medium vuur en grill de asperges voor 2-3 minuten, daarna de parmaham voor 1 minuut.
Verdeel de risotto over 2 borden. Leg de gegrilde asperges en parmaham erop. Bestrooi met extra Parmezaan.
Salmon with Basil Aioli, Green Asparagus and Purslane
A wonderful date night dinner. Serve with a glass of chilled white wine and the evening is set.
English
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 salmon fillets
10 green asparagus
50g purslane
1 small bunch basil
1 clove garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Method
Place the mayonnaise in a small bowl with the basil leaves. Finely chop the garlic clove, also adding it to the bowl and blend with a stick blender until smooth (alternatively, finely chop the basil and stir through the mayonnaise). Season with salt and pepper.
Discard the hard ends of the asparagus. Heat a grill pan on medium heat. Drizzle the asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and lay in the grill pan. Grill for about 5 minutes turning every so often.
Heat a frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Mix the purslane through the warm asparagus. Divide between 2 plates, placing the salmon on top. Serve the basil aioli on the side.
Nederlands
voor 2 personen
Ingrediënten
2 zalmfilets
10 groene asperges
50g postelein
1 klein bosje basilicum
1 teentje knoflook
4 eetlepels olijfolie
4 eetlepels mayonaise
zout en peper
Bereiding
Doe de mayonaise in een kommetje met de basilicum blaadjes. Hak het knoflookteentje fijn, voeg toe aan het kommetje en pureer met een staafmixer (of hak de basilicum fijn en meng dit door de mayonaise heen). Breng op smaak met zout en peper.
Verwijder de harde eindstukjes van de asperges. Verwarm een grillpan op medium vuur. Besprenkel de asperges met 2 eetlepels olijfolie, wat zout en peper en leg ze in de grillpan. Grill ze voor 5 minuten en keer ze af en toe om.
Verhit een koekenpan met 2 eetlepels olijfolie op medium hoog vuur. Bestrooi de zalmfilets met zout en peper en bak de zalm in 3 minuten aan elke kant goudbruin.
Meng de postelein door de warme asperges. Verdeel over 2 borden en plaats de zalm er boven op met een lepel basilicum aioli er naast.
Asparagus Vichyssoise
On a hot spring or summer day, there is nothing as refreshing as a chilled soup. The classic Vichyssoise is a chilled leek and potato soup. To this recipe, we have added one of our favourite ingredients of the season, namely green asparagus. Try this recipe out for your next lunch or dinner.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 bunches green asparagus
40 gr butter
1 large onion
1 large leek
2 floury potatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
250ml tub cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
1
Cut the asparagus tips into 4 cm pieces. Finely chop the remaining asparagus. Finely slice the onion and cut the leek in lengthways in half. Wash under a tap of cold water and finely slice. Peel the potato and cut into cubes.
2
Heat a pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the onion, leek, potato and sliced asparagus (keep the asparagus tips aside). Mix well through the warm butter, cover the pan and sweat for 10 minutes over a low heat.
3
Dissolve the stock cube in 1 litre boiling water. Add the stock to the pan. Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4
Add 200 ml cream and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Blend with a stick blender (or regular blender). Thin with a little water if necessary. Cool off, place in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
5
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add asparagus tips. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain off the water and cool under cold water. Drain on kitchen paper.
6
Spoon the soup into 4 bowls. Sprinkle some of the remaining cream over it and top with the asparagus tips.
This soup is also served delicious hot.
Asparagus
Asparagus season has officially started for this year! And we're so pleased, as asparagus are one of our favourite vegetables. They're incredibly versatile as they can be blanched, grilled, roasted and when thinly shaved, even served raw.
How do you best store and clean asparagus?
In the refrigerator asparagus have a shelf life of about 7 days, in a damp tea towel (to prevent drying out) it's 1 to 3 days. Asparagus can also be frozen. Before freezing, the asparagus should be washed and peeled (there is no need to blanche them). When you want to use the asparagus, place them straight from the freezer into a pan of boiling water.
To give you some inspiration, here are 2 of our recipes using asparagus. Go out and get some now!
Asparagus and Turnip Greens Pasta
Asparagus and Turnip Greens Pasta
Ingredients
1 bunch green asparagus
2 bunches turnip greens
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons capers
500 g spaghetti
olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil for the spaghetti.
Remove the hard bases from the asparagus and discard them. Slice the asparagus diagonally into 3 pieces. Finely chop the garlic and rinse off the turnip greens, removing any hard stalks.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 3 tablespoons olive oil and fry the asparagus for about 5 minutes until golden and al dente. In the meantime, boil the spaghetti in the pot of boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the garlic and capers to the asparagus and fry for a further 2 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with the asparagus and toss the ingredients well together. Add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water and season with salt and pepper. The pasta should be shiny, not dry and well amalgamated.
Stir the turnip greens through the pasta until they have just wilted and serve immediately.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours