British asparagus is eagerly awaited by everyone. It doesn’t have the best PR and is sometimes seen as being tricky to prepare but that’s not the case and should be celebrated and eaten by everyone.
Look out for UK-grown asparagus that has lovely green shoots with no brown at the edges.
Before using simply snap the end off each spear at its most tender point as this gets rid of any potentially woody stems. The stems can still be used in soups.
Today I’ve teamed asparagus with mature Mull Cheddar which is a fantastic product, Scotland’s answer to parmesan. The dish, which makes a great dinner-party starter or canape, has plenty of wow factor but is very easy to make.
Asparagus also features in the second dish which includes a recipe for a salsa which goes well with monkfish and a host of grilled meats including pork chops and chicken.
It is healthy, uses local and British products and is super-seasonal.
CRISP ASPARAGUS AND MATURE MULL CHEDDAR STRAWS WITH KIPPER AND CROWDIE DIP
SERVES 4
2 bunches of Asparagus (British)
200g finely grated mature Mull Cheddar
1 pack of filo pastry
100g melted butter
Freshly ground pepper
FOR THE DIP
2 Kippers
130g Crowdie
100ml Rapeseed oil
120ml Buttermilk
1 peeled clove garlic
tsp smoked Pimenton (Dulce)
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pre-heat the oven 190c.
Prepare the asparagus by chopping off the woody stem at the base of each spear.
Unfold a sheet of filo pastry lengthways at a time (taking care to re-pack the remaining pastry otherwise it will dry out very quickly) and place on a chopping board or work surface.
Using a sharp knife divide each sheet into three.
Liberally and gently cover each sheet with some melted butter using a pastry brush.
Next, sprinkle a layer of grated cheddar over each sheet and a good few twists of pepper.
Take an asparagus spear and on a slight diagonal roll it up in the pastry, so it becomes a long cylinder.
Leave the slight excess of pastry at either end as it becomes golden, crisp and delicious.
Brush a little more of the melted butter over the pastry. Repeat the process with the rest of the asparagus.
Once all the asparagus is wrapped, pop them onto a non-stick baking tray and bake for roughly 8-10 minutes until golden.
For an extra indulgence, finely grate some more Mull cheddar over the spears for the last minute of cooking. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes.
TO MAKE THE DIP
Remove the skin from the kippers and chop the flesh into small pieces. Place in a liquidiser along with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth.
If the mix is a little thick, pour in a little hot water from a freshly boiled kettle. Pass through a fine sieve to a achieve a smooth texture and pop into ramekin dishes and serve with the asparagus and cheese straws.
GIGHA HALIBUT WITH ASPARAGUS, RHUBARB & MINT SALSA, RAPESEED AND BLOOD ORANGE DRESSING
SERVES 4
1 skinned fillet Gigha Halibut (at room temperature), cut into 4 portions
2 bunches asparagus (British)
1 thin stick Rhubarb (not forced)
Bunch of mint (finely shredded)
FOR THE DRESSING
1 blood orange (peeled, segmented)
250ml Rapeseed Oil
40ml orange juice
30ml lemon juice
20ml white wine vinegar
2tsp Dijon Mustard
Pinch salt and sugar to taste
Pre-heat a heavy, grilled pan to very hot. While this is heating up, make the dressing.
Place the juices, vinegar and mustard in a liquidiser and blitz. Slowly drizzle in the oil. Once added, adjust the taste with the salt and sugar if needed.
The amount of dressing produced is more than required for this recipe but the dressing will keep quite happily a sealed jar, in the fridge for a week or so.
For the salsa: Cut the rhubarb in half, then into quarters, lengthways. Now, very finely slice the rhubarb across the lengths.
Take four or five thicker spears of asparagus and cut off the woody base.
Slice each spear into a similar size, following the same technique as the rhubarb.
Place the sliced rhubarb and asparagus into a bowl, add a generous pinch of mint and enough of the dressing to coat evenly.
Cut off the woody base off the remaining asparagus. Place the spears onto the hot grill pan and leave for a minute before turning over. Once lightly charred all over (which should only take a couple of minutes) remove from the heat to a shallow dish and lightly dress with the dressing.
Chop the orange segments into small pieces and add to the remaining dressing.
Finally, generously season the fish with sea salt and pepper.
Heat a non-stick frying pan to very hot. Add a small amount of rapeseed oil and then carefully add each piece of fish.
Allow the fish to colour slightly on the pan side then immediately turn off the heat. Now, turn over the fish and allow the residual heat to gently finish cooking the fish. This should take no more than a couple of minutes.
Divide the grilled and dressed asparagus between four warmed plates, place the fish on top. Top with a spoonful of salsa and drizzle round some of the blood orange segments.