Aparagus Gazpacho Verde Recipes

ASPARAGUS WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Trim the asparagus by snapping off the woody, tough ends, and peel thick asparagus. It will look and taste better. Bring a quart or two of water to a boil in a wide pan, generously salt to taste.
• FOR THE PICKLED RED ONION: While the water is coming to a boil, pickle the red onion and make the sauce. To make the pickled red onion, peel a whole, small red onion, then slice it thinly into rounds. Separate the rounds and put them in a bowl, then cover with a white wine or rice wine vinegar and a few pinches salt. Toss them with your finger so that they are all coated, then refrigerate until you need them. It takes only about 10 to 15 minutes for the color to blossom.
• FOR THE ORANGE ZEST: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Zest a few strips of orange peel in wide bands. Julienne the bands into thin strips and blanch in boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds. Drain and chop half of the orange rinds into a fine dice. Set aside.
• Add the trimmed, peeled (if necessary) asparagus to the wide pan of salted boiling water, and cook until it is tender and bright green, about 5 minutes for thin asparagus, 7 to 8 minutes if it is thick. Set the cooked asparagus on a towel to drain briefly.
• FOR THE SAUCE: Meanwhile, combine the chopped parsley and capers in a bowl. Mince half the slivered orange zest and add it to the bowl along with half of the pickled onion, minced. Stir in the mustard, orange juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• TO FINISH: Drain the asparagus. Lay the asparagus on a platter. Ladle the sauce over the stems and garnish with the remaining slivers of orange peel and pickled onion.Suggestions: You can vary the taste by using aromatic sesame or peanut oils in place of the olive oil. Both flavors go well with asparagus and also harmonize with orange. Keep the parsley or use cilantro instead if you're wild for that herb. Other spring herbs to consider including are tarragon, lovage, chives and chervil and all are excellent with asparagus.

APARAGUS GAZPACHO VERDE

Steps:

• 1. Slice the onion and soak in some cool water to take away the bite. 2. Quarter and seed the tomatillos or tomatoes. Hold the cucumber under running water and scrub the skin clean with your thumbs. Cut into 1/2 in lengths. Cut the asparagus tips off and cut the rest of the asparagus into 1 inch lengths. 3. In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Add the asparagus, except for the tips, and parboil for about 1 minute. Remove the asparagus from the stock and plunge into ice water, then set aside on a paper towel. Add the asparagus tips to the boiling stock and parboil 30 seconds, plunge into ice water and set aside on paper towels. 4. Drain the onion and pat dry. Put the onion, tomatillos or tomatoes, cucumber, aparagus (except tips), garlic, parsley and cilantro into a food processor, pulse until you get a rough puree. Add the stock into the mixture a little at a time, pulsing as you do, until you reach the desired thinness (It should still be fairly thick). 5. Divide the mixture into serving bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour. 6. Remove the bowls from the refrigerator, remove the plastic, and sprinkle with your favorite croutons as desired. Take the reserved asparagus tips and stand them point up in the gazpacho. Serve.

ASPARAGUS GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Cook 1/2 bunch trimmed asparagus in salted boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool, then roughly chop. Puree in a blender with 1 chopped small green bell pepper, 1/2 chopped large seedless cucumber, 1/2 jalapeno, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 cup fresh basil, 1 cup diced country bread (crusts removed), 1/4 cup each water, olive oil and fresh parsley and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; thin with water if needed. Season with salt. Chill until cold.

ASPARAGUS WITH SALSA VERDE AND SCARLET ONIONS

Steps:

• Separate sliced onion rings and toss with vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside in refrigerator.
• If asparagus spears are thick, peel stalks and cut off tough stem ends. If they are thin, snap off bottom of each stalk where it breaks easily and trim ends. Simmer asparagus with water to cover until bright green but still a little firm, about 3 minutes for thin spears, 5 minutes or longer for fat. They can be a bit underdone. Remove to a towel to dry; asparagus will finish cooking as it sits.
• Put parsley, tarragon and capers in a bowl. Finely dice half the orange zest, then dice half the pickled onion. Add diced zest and onion to bowl. Stir in oil, mustard, orange juice and vinegar to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
• Lay asparagus on a platter. Ladle sauce over stems and tips and finish with remaining slivered orange zest and pickled onion rings. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH GAZPACHO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cut cucumber into pieces and place in a food processor blender; add tomatoes, shallots, lemon juice, tomato juice, parsley, garlic and green onion tops. Pulse to purée. Transfer to a bowl; season with Tabasco, salt and pepper.
• To finish the vinaigrette, for each cup of gazpacho, add the juice of one lemon and 1 cup extra virgin olive oil; blend using a had blender until thickened and frothy.
• For the croutons, dip cubed eggplant in milk, then dredge in semolina. In a deep fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees; fry eggplant until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel. Season immediately with salt.
• Trim, peel and blanch(place in boiling water 1 minute) the asparagus, or cook till desired doneness; toss with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the center of the plate. Ladle 3 tablespoons gazpacho vinaigrette over the asparagus. Garnish with cucumber, tomato, celery, red onion, parsley and eggplant croutons.

GAZPACHO VERDE

Steps:

• Bring the water to boil. Add the spinach and 3 chopped scallions and simmer 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and preserve the bright green color. Transfer to a blender with all but the last three ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add the finely chopped scallion and diced cucumber. Chill until very cold. To serve, ladle into bowls and float a lime slice on top. Garnish with a nasturtium flower.