Top tips: The best salads with asparagus
HERALD the great British asparagus season with succulent spears of the realm.
Styling by Victoria Gray
Photographs by Winfried Heinze
British asparagus, broad bean, mint and mozzarella bruschetta
British
Starter
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ●300g (10½oz) podded and shelled broad beans
- ●2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil plus an extra drizzle
- ● Juice of 1 lemon
- ● A handful of mint leaves, saving a few small ones for garnish
- ● Salt and pepper
- ●100g (3½oz) British asparagus, cut in half lengthways
- ●4 slices of rustic white bread, such as sourdough
- ●1 garlic clove, peeled but left whole
- ●1 small ball (about 150g/5¼oz) of good buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn
Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, drain again, then peel off their skins.
Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the beans then use the back of a fork to roughly crush them. Stir through the mint then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cook the asparagus in boiled, salted water for 1-2 minutes then drain under cold water.
Heat a griddle pan, toast the bread on both sides, then rub with the garlic clove. Spoon some of the beans over each slice of bread, scatter over the asparagus, mint and mozzarella then drizzle with extra olive oil, to serve.
British asparagus and smoked salmon salad with a pepper dressing
British
Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- ●1 packet (about 125g/4½oz) of British asparagus tips
- ●135g (4¾oz) mixed salad leaves and watercress
- ●100g (3½oz) smoked salmon
- ●2 pre-cooked beetroots, cut into eighths
- ● Black pepper
- ● Juice of 1 lemon
For the dressing:
- ●3 tbsps horseradish sauce
- ●2 tbsps plain yoghurt
- ●1 tsp white-wine vinegar
Place the asparagus tips into a pan of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, assemble the salad leaves and watercress on to 2 small plates and lay on the smoked salmon.
Add the beetroots then drain the asparagus tips and lay them on top of the salad.
Mix all the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the salad. Add lots of black pepper and finish with lemon juice.
British asparagus and hot tuna Niçoise salad
British
Salad
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ●Half a bundle (about 125g/4½oz) of British asparagus
- ●2 tbsps olive oil
- ●1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- ●2 tuna steaks (about 100g/3½oz each)
- ●1 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
- ●2 eggs
- ●2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves
- ● Olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- ● Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
Put the asparagus on a baking tray, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and add the chopped green chilli. Cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
Place a grill pan on the hob, add the other tablespoon of olive oil and wait until it heats up. Also bring a pan of water to the boil for the eggs.
Meanwhile, rub the tuna steaks with crushed black peppercorns to form a crust.
Add the tuna steaks to the hot grill pan and cook for 2 minutes on both sides for rare steaks or more if you like. When cooked, leave them to rest for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, drop the eggs into the boiling water and cook to your taste – 3½ minutes for soft-boiled or 7 minutes for hard. While they are cooking, you can assemble the salad.
Divide the salad leaves between 2 plates then add the asparagus spears and chilli from the oven.
Slice the tuna on the diagonal then lay it over the asparagus and salad.
Remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and peel them under running water.
Then halve and place the eggs on the plates. Season well with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper then serve.
British asparagus and cheese brunch muffins
British
Salad
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ●400g (14oz) self-raising flour, sifted
- ●200g (7oz) Cheshire cheese, cut into small cubes
- ●125g (4½oz) butter
- ● A small bunch of chives, snipped into pieces
- ●150ml (5¼fl oz) milk
- ●100ml (3½fl oz) plain yoghurt
- ●1 tsp English mustard
- ●2 eggs
- ● Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cases.
Cut the asparagus spears into small pieces, about 1cm (½in) in length, leaving the tips a little longer. Blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Drain and refresh under cold running water, separating the tips from the stems.
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the cubes of cheese.
Melt the butter and pour into a jug. Stir through the chives, milk, yoghurt, mustard and eggs. Mix well until combined then season generously with salt and pepper.
Gently fold the wet ingredients into the flour and cheese then stir through the asparagus stems. Be careful not to over-mix – stop as soon as the mixture is combined.
Spoon the mixture evenly between the cases and push an asparagus tip into the middle of each one. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. These are best eaten hot out of the oven, spread with a little cold butter.
British asparagus tortilla
British
Salad
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ● Salt and pepper
- ●A bundle (about 250g/9oz) of British asparagus
- ●1 courgette, thinly sliced
- ●15g (½oz) unsalted butter
- ●2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- ●200g (7oz) Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and diced
- ●1 red onion, sliced
- ●6 medium eggs, beaten
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Fill another dish that is large enough to fit the asparagus with iced water.
Drop the asparagus into the water, keeping it boiling, then cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the asparagus from the boiling water with a slotted spoon then plunge it into the iced water to preserve its bright colour.
Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, fry the sliced courgette in butter then add the garlic and cook over a medium heat for about 6-7 minutes, until almost sticky.
With the same water used for the asparagus, parboil the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Add the chopped potatoes and onion to the pan then cook until softened.
Put the asparagus into the pan. Season the beaten eggs with salt and pepper then add to the pan. When the eggs have just set around the edges, transfer to the preheated oven for about 6-8 minutes or until the tortilla is set.
When cooked, turn the tortilla out on to a plate.
Cut the tortilla into slices then serve it alongside some dressed salad leaves.
For more information, visit british-asparagus.co.uk.