Asparagus Nibbles Food

SAVORY ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. , Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the oil, tarragon, onion powder and pepper until blended. Drain asparagus; drizzle with oil mixture and toss to coat.

ASPARAGUS WITH SERRANO HAM

Steps:

• Cook 1 bunch asparagus (trimmed and peeled) in salted boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Drain and let cool, then pat dry. Wrap each spear with a slice of serrano ham. For the dip: Puree 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika.

ASPARAGUS NIBBLES

Steps:

• Trim and blanch asparagus spears in boiling salted water for about 1 minute and then chill in an ice bath. Dry them with paper towels. Wrap a slice of ham around each of the asparagus, leaving the tips showing. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle with black pepper.

ASPARAGUS TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pate brisee on a lightly floured surface to a 10-by-15-inch rectangle. Press dough into bottom and up sides of a fluted 8-by-11-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim excess dough flush with edges of pan using a sharp paring knife. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook asparagus until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with tongs or drain in a colander, and immediately transfer to ice-water bath. Let stand for 1 minute to stop the cooking process. Drain. Slice each spear in half lengthwise.
• Line dough with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are just golden, about 25 minutes. Remove pie weights, and bake until tart shell is golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Spread ricotta over tart shell while still warm. Season with salt and pepper. Top with asparagus, and drape prosciutto over top. Drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS WRAPS WITH LEMON MAYO

Steps:

• Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, tip in the asparagus and cook for 2 mins until just tender. Drain well. Quarter each slice of ham, into 4 shorter strips, then wrap one around the middle of each asparagus spear. Mix the mayo with the lemon zest and juice and a little pepper and put in a small bowl. Serve with the asparagus, warm or cold, for dipping.

CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C.
• Lay out the sheets of puff pastry. They will defrost while you prepare the chicken.
• Cut the chicken breast into long strips. You will need half a large chicken breast or half a medium chicken breast plus the tenderloin from the other half.
• Sprinkle the stock powder over the chicken. I use an organic vegetable stock but use whatever you have. I have tried soy sauce but it makes the chicken too wet. Dry ingredients are better and light flavours don't overpower the asparagus. Add a grind or two of black pepper and a good pinch of salt. Make sure all the chicken is coated with some seasoning.
• Drain the asparagus well. Tinned/canned asparagus works really well in this recipe.
• The pastry should be defrosted enough to be able to cut the sheets in half. Cut each sheet in half to give you 10 strips.
• Put asparagus spears down the middle of each strip. Then lay a strip of chicken beside the asparagus.
• Beat an egg lightly and then brush some eggwash along the cut in the middle of the sheet of pastry.
• With a sheet in front of you with the cut going left to right (not up and down), take the edge near you and fold it over the chicken and asparagus. Use the folded edge to shove the filling nearer to you until it is tucked around the filling quite tightly.
• Now roll up the pastry to the eggwash and make sure the cut edge stays on the bottom of the roll.
• Brush the top with egg and sprinkle plenty of sesame seeds on top.
• Cut into 6 pieces.
• Repeat for the other 9 strips to give you 60 little bites.
• Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. The chicken will cook in this time and will still be moist and tasty.
• Take the rolls off the baking tray and cool slightly on a wire rack. Then serve warm or leave on the rack and serve cold. They are equally good warm or cold. They can be reheated but, like all pastry dishes, are better freshly baked.
• The rolls in the photograph I have posted were made with a low-fat puff pastry. As expected, they haven't puffed up as much as usual pastry but still tasted good. Let's face it, pastry is never going to be a low-fat food so you may as well enjoy it but just not eat it all the time. I'll be going back to the usual next time. 14/12/07 - Edited to add an updated photo of rolls made with regular puff pastry. Also, I increased the amount of chicken.
• Note: put the sesame seeds in a dish and discard any that you don't use. They could be contaminated by the chicken so you don't want to put them back in the bag.