Three Asparagus Recipes

Time to post my 3 asparagus recipes for the One Perfect Ingredient event! If you still haven’t done it, there’s still time to take part, and enter the competition to win Marcus Wareing’s new book! Here’s HOW!

One Perfect Ingredient, Three Ways to Cook it by Marcus Wareing

For some more info asparagus, check out my previous post: One perfect ingredient: ASPARAGUS.

IMG_4873

 RECIPE 1

This is how my mum and my grandmas prepare asparagus: boiled with whole eggs, and seasoned with red wine vinegar and olive oil. Eaten with bread. Simple and delicious.

____________________________________________________

 

Asparagus with Eggs   OR   Sparoge s jajima

 

SOURCE: Family recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

CUISINE: Croatian

SERVES: 1

 

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of wild asparagus

2 eggs

water

red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 7 cm pieces.

2. Put the eggs into enough water to cover them. Add the asparagus, and cook until the asparagus become soft. I like them slightly al dente.

3. When the asparagus are done, take the eggs out of the water, peel them, and cut into pieces, which you then add back to the asparagus. Reserve as much of the cooking liquid as you want, and add it to the asparagus and eggs (My mum eats it as a broth actually!). It’s nice to have some sauce to dip the bread in! Then, season with salt, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Eat with some good crusty bread! Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________  IMG_4871-1

RECIPE 2 

The next dish is a bit of a treat. My mum saw this recipe on TV, and it became an instant hit in the family! Not a big surprise, given that it contains prosciutto! 🙂 You can also use bacon or pancetta.

 

Istarska fritaja  OR  Istrian Frittata

 

SOURCE: As seen on TV

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

CUISINE: Croatian

SERVES: 2

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of wild or regular asparagus

a little water 

4 eggs

oil

2 thick slices prosciutto, cut into pieces

IMG_4938

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 3 – 5 cm pieces.

2. Warm the oil in a wide pan, and then add asparagus pieces to it. Cook on a low heat, until softened. Add a little water. This will evaporate quickly, and steam the asparagus slightly.

3. When the asparagus is al dente, add the prosciutto pieces to it, and cook until the prosciutto is cooked, and it changes colour. Then add the eggs, and cook, stirring, until the eggs have set.

We serve this with some nice bread and a salad of lettuce seasoned with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

______________________________________________________________

IMG_4943-2

RECIPE 3

The final dish was inspired by the previous recipe. Actually, you could say it’s a vegetarian version of the previous recipe, because all I did was to replace the prosciutto with feta! In retrospect, the only thing I would do differently, is to add feta after the eggs have set. This would make it look prettier, and it would separate the tastes of individual ingredients a little.

 

Asparagus and Feta Frittata

 

SOURCE: My creation, inspired by the previous recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

SERVES: 2

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of asparagus

a little water 

4 eggs

oil

100 g of feta cheese, cut into pieces

salt and pepper

 

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 3 – 5 cm pieces.

2. Warm the oil in a wide pan, and then add asparagus pieces to it. Cook on a low heat, until softened. Add a little water. This will evaporate quickly, and steam the asparagus slightly.

3. Beat the eggs lightly, season, and stir the cubes of feta in. When the asparagus is al dente, add the eggs, and cook, stirring, until the eggs have set.

I serve this on a piece of buttered toast and with a leafy salad.

IMG_4943-3

______________________________________________________________

Leave a comment

13 Comments

  1. That looks like three great ways to prepare asparagus. Thanks for the insoiration.

    Like

    Reply
  2. LOVE your creation! The reason? I always make scrambled eggs with some cheese: framer’s cheese, feta or processed cheese and often a combination of these. Hehe! My palate likes the veggie-eggs combination topped with some cheese

    Like

    Reply
  3. SYLVIE, thanks! I’d be interested to know whether any of these are familiar to people.

    LORE, Thanks and welcome to my blog! I love that combo, too! A friend of mine makes great scrambled eggs with mushrooms, cheese and herbs! Yum!

    Like

    Reply
  4. I really like asparagus, not eggs unfortunately!
    Nice photos.

    Like

    Reply
  5. Hi Nic!

    You could try the first recipe without the eggs, and have grilled asparagus with feta or prosciutto as a version of the other two recipes.

    Also, I think they could go really well grilled with some grilled halloumi, with a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper to boost the flavours! Actually, I like this idea so much, that I will add it to the post above! 😀

    Like

    Reply
  6. I have always seen the canned version but never tried it.. guess tastes good.

    Like

    Reply
  7. Sushma, it tastes fantastic! Do try it if you get a chance. Mind you, it is a little bitter, but still great-tasting! 🙂

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

    Like

    Reply
  8. Hey – now you’re talking!
    Great ideas, will have to try them.

    Like

    Reply
  1. One Perfect Ingredient - Asparagus « Maninas: Food Matters
  2. One Perfect Ingredient - THE ROUND-UP! « Maninas: Food Matters
  3. Eating with the Seasons: Asparagus « Maninas: Food Matters
  4. Taste of Home: Some photos from Croatia « Maninas: Food Matters
  5. Croatian picnic in London « Maninas: Food Matters

Leave a comment