Asparagus And Broad Beans Food

HEALTHY PASTA PRIMAVERA

Steps:

• Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and put a steamer (or colander) over the water. Steam the beans, asparagus and peas until just tender, then set aside. Boil the pasta following pack instructions.
• Meanwhile, fry the leeks gently in the oil and butter for 5 mins or until soft. Add the fromage frais to the leeks and very gently warm through, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn't split. Add the herbs and steamed vegetables with a splash of pasta water to loosen.
• Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Adjust the seasoning, then serve scattered with the cheese and drizzled with a little extra olive oil.

A PILAF OF ASPARAGUS, BROAD BEANS AND MINT

Steps:

• Cook the broad beans in salted water for 4 mins, till almost tender, drain.
• Trim asparagus into short lengths, steam for 3 mins and drain.
• wash the rice 3 times in cold water, stiring with your hand, cover with warm water, add a tsp salt and set aside for a good hour.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the bay leaves, cardamon, peppercorns,cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin seeds and thyme. Stir in the butter for a minute or two until the fragrance is released.
• Drain the rice and tip it into the warmed spices, cover with 1 cm depth of water and bring to the boil.Season with salt, cover and turn the heat down to a simmer.
• Finely slice the spring onions and chop the parsley.
• After 5 mins remove the lid and gently fold in the asparagus, beans, spring onions and parsley. Replace lid and continue to cook for 5-6 mins, until the rice is tender but still has some bite to it. All the water should have been absorbed, leave with the lid on but the heat off for 2-3 minutes.
• Remove lid, check seasoning, add extra butter if liked and fluff with a fork sprinkle over the mint.
• Can be served with minted yoghurt if liked.

PEA & BROAD BEAN SHAKSHUKA

Steps:

• Trim or snap the woody ends of the asparagus and finely slice the spears, leaving the tips and about 2cm at the top intact. Finely slice the broccoli in the same way, leaving the heads and about 2cm of stalk intact. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the spring onions, sliced asparagus and sliced broccoli, and fry gently until the veg softens a little, then add the cumin seeds, cayenne, tomatoes (with their juices), parsley and plenty of seasoning, and stir. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins to make a base sauce, then add the asparagus spears, broccoli heads, peas and broad beans, cover again and cook for 2 mins.
• Make 4 dips in the mixture. Break an egg into each dip, arrange half the pea shoots around the eggs, season well, cover with a lid and cook until the egg whites are just set. Serve with the rest of the pea shoots, a spoonful of yogurt and some flatbreads, and sprinkle over another pinch of cayenne, if you like.

WARM SALAD OF ASPARAGUS AND BROAD BEANS

Steps:

• Cook broad beans in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, refresh in iced water, then peel and set aside.
• For spring onion vinaigrette, combine wine and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until reduced to ¼ cup. Meanwhile, blanch spring onion in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then refresh in iced water, drain well and set aside. Heat reduced wine and olive oil in a small frying pan. When warm add spring onion and broad beans, cook for 1 minute or until vegetables are warmed through and season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and divide between plates. Spoon over spring onion vinaigrette and broad beans, scatter with sprouts and serve.

ASPARAGUS AND FAVA BEANS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Blanch fava beans in a pot of salted boiling water just until tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to an ice-water bath. Blanch asparagus in pot until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to ice-water bath. Drain vegetables. Remove outer skin from fava beans (you should have 1 cup). Pat asparagus dry.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Swirl in oil, then add garlic and fava beans and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is softened, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer beans to a plate with a slotted spoon. Let skillet cool slightly, then whisk lemon juice into oil in skillet; season with salt and pepper. (Add more oil if dressing is too tart.) Add asparagus; toss to coat with dressing.
• Combine almonds and lemon zest in a small bowl. Transfer asparagus to a platter, top with fava beans, and drizzle remaining dressing in skillet over top. Sprinkle with almond-zest mixture and serve.

ASPARAGUS, BROAD BEAN & SMOKED SALMON PASTA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a pan, then fry the spring onions for 1 minute, until softened. Add the wine and boil hard to reduce to about 2 tbsp. Stir in the crème fraîche, season well and add the nutmeg. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in the dill, if using, and squeeze in a little lemon juice. Set aside.
• Blanch the shelled broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain into a sieve and hold under running cold water to cool. Drain again and peel off the outer hard skin - make a nick in the tops and pop the beans out.
• Trim the asparagus - if it's young, it won't need much cut off the stems. Cut into halves or thirds. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water as per pack instructions, adding the asparagus 3 minutes before the end of cooking time. Cook until "al dente".
• Drain well, reserving a little pasta water. Toss the hot pasta and asparagus with the drained broad beans, smoked salmon and sauce, loosening with a spoonful or two of pasta water, if necessary. The heat of the pasta should reheat the sauce and slightly cook the smoked salmon, but stir over a gentle heat to warm through if necessary. Serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS & BROAD BEAN LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the milk in a pan until just boiling, then tip in the beans (add a splash of water to cover if you need to). Cook for 3 mins to defrost, then add the garlic, basil, lemon zest, spring onions and bouillon, then blitz for a few mins with a hand blender until smooth.
• Spoon half the purée into a 20 x 26cm ovenproof dish. Top with 3 lasagne sheets, the remaining purée, and the peas, then the remaining lasagne sheets.
• Whisk the cottage cheese with the egg and a good grating of nutmeg. Pour over the lasagne, then press in the asparagus and scatter over the parmesan. Bake for 1 hr until golden and a knife easily slides through. Can be kept chilled for two days.