Asparagus Crudites With Mayonnaise Verte Recipes

ASPARAGUS AND GREEN BEANS WITH TARRAGON LEMON DIP

Steps:

• Cook asparagus spears and green beans in 1-inch of salted boiling water, covered, for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and cool the vegetables and arrange them on a serving plate. Combine the dip ingredients in a small bowl and garnish with sprigs of parsley and tarragon and set dip along side vegetables on serving dish.

ASPARAGUS CRUDITES WITH MAYONNAISE VERTE

Steps:

• Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water blanch asparagus 1 minute and transfer with tongs to ice water to stop cooking. Drain asparagus well in a colander and pat dry. Asparagus may be blanched 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealable plastic bag.
• Wash and dry parsley and in a blender purée with oil, verjus or lemon juice, and mustard until smooth. Stir purée into mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve mayonnaise with asparagus for dipping.
• *Verjus is available at some specialty food shops and by mail order from Dean and DeLuca. Call 212-226-6800 ext. 268

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH TANGERINE MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Put the tangerine juice in a small non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. Let cool to room temperature.
• Peel the tangerines, removing all the white pith, and segment over a bowl to catch both the segments and the juices. Cover and refrigerate until very cold.
• Combine the reduced juice, tarragon, egg yolk, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a blender and blend until well mixed. With the machine running, add the 1 cup olive oil, at first by drops and then, as mixture emulsifies, in a thin, steady stream until all the oil is incorporated. Taste, for seasoning. Scrape into a jar, cover, and refrigerate until needed. You should have about 1 2/3 cups mayonnaise. Keeps 2 to 3 days, refrigerated.
• Prepare the grill and let burn down to medium coals. Toss the cooled asparagus with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium to low coals, turning the spears as needed, until they take on a little color and are just tender, about 6 minutes. Cover the grill, if necessary, to maintain the heat.
• Arrange the asparagus on a platter with the reserved tangerine segments. Dot with the mayonnaise, and drizzle with any tangerine juice left in the bowl. Garnish with fresh or candied zest and the nuts, if using. Serve at once.
• Cook's Note: Every cook has insecurities. One of mine is mayonnaise. I always get a little anxious until I see it coming together in the blender. If the mayonnaise is too thick, thin it, with the machine running, by pulsing in a little cool water. If you are concerned about raw eggs, use a pasteurized egg product or an egg substitute such as Egg Beaters.

ASPARAGUS WITH GARLIC DIP

Steps:

• Trim 3 bunches asparagus; peel the bottoms. Boil until tender, 4 to 5 minutes; drain and cool. Peel the cloves from 4 heads garlic and cook in 1/2 cup olive oil over low heat until soft, 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the oil. Puree the garlic with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard and 1/4 cup water. Blend in 1/4 cup of the garlic oil. Season with salt, pepper and chopped chives; serve with the asparagus.

BLANCHED CRUDITES

Steps:

• Prepare a large pot of boiling salted water, and fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Remove the tough bottoms of the asparagus stalks. If they are thick, peel the stems half-way up the stalk.
• Add the carrots to the pot of boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately remove the carrots with a slotted spoon and plunge them in the bowl of ice water. Drain the carrots when fully cooled.
• Add the asparagus to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon and plunge them into the reserved bowl of ice water. Drain the asparagus when fully cooled.
• Slice the radicchio into wedges.
• Arrange the carrots, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and radicchio on a platter and serve with the Herb Dip.
• Place the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and blend. Serve at room temperature.

COLD ASPARAGUS WITH TRUFFLE MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Toss the cold asparagus with the extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir truffle oil into the mayonnaise. Plate the asparagus. Spoon mayonnaise to one side of asparagus.
• Bring about 6 quarts of water to a rapid boil in a covered pot large enough to hold the asparagus. Cut the bottom section- usually about 1 to 2 inches off the asparagus stalks with a sharp knife. Peel the asparagus by laying them flat, one at a time, on a cutting board. If the asparagus are thinner than 1/2-inch, use a vegetable peeler and peel the asparagus starting at the base of the tip and peeling them all the way down to the base, eliminating the fibrous peel and revealing the pale green flesh. If the asparagus are very thick or woody, use a paring knife and start peeling from the base. When ready to cook, toss the salt into the boiling water and carefully lower in the asparagus. Turn the heat to low and simmer the asparagus, uncovered, until the spears are easily penetrated with a knife, usually after about 5 minutes but from 1 minute for very thin asparagus to 12 minutes for the very thickest. If serving cold asparagus, plunge the hot cooked asparagus into ice water or rinse under cold water in a colander. Pat dry.

ASPARAGUS FRIES & BACONNAISE

Steps:

• Separate one of the three eggs for the asparagus. Put the white in a bowl with the remaining two eggs, beat with a fork and set aside until needed. Now, make the baconnaise. Chop the bacon as finely as possible. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the bacon and stir over a low heat for 15 mins, so it ends up sizzling in its own fat and becomes brown and crisp. Sit a metal sieve over a jug and tip the bacon into the sieve - you need about 200ml of fat in total, so top up the bacon fat with extra oil as necessary. Leave to cool for 10 mins.
• Tip the egg, egg yolk and mustard into a bowl, whisk to combine, then slowly add the bacon fat and oil mixture - first a drop at a time, then gradually quicker when it starts to come together. (You can also make this in a mini chopper, by blitzing the egg and mustard then slowly adding the oil with the blade running.) Once you have a thick mayonnaise, add the vinegar and chopped bacon, and season to taste. Can be made up to three days ahead and kept in the fridge.
• For the asparagus, snap off or trim the woody ends (save for making stock or soup). Get out three shallow dishes and tip the flour into one, the reserved beaten eggs into another, and the parmesan and breadcrumbs into the third. Dip the asparagus in the flour, then the egg, then the cheesy breadcrumbs, and put on a plate. Can be prepared the day before, covered and kept in the fridge.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Drizzle the oil over a baking tray (a sturdy Swiss roll tin is ideal) and heat in the oven. Once the oil is hot, carefully lay the asparagus spears in it, then turn them. Make sure they are in one layer, then roast for 20 mins, turning halfway through, until the crumbs have browned to a crisp coating. Leave until just cool enough to pick up, then serve with the baconnaise for dipping.

STEAMED ASPARAGUS WITH TARRAGON MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• To make mayonnaise, in blender or food processor, place tofu, lemon juice, mustard, salt, shallot and garlic. Cover and blend on medium speed until smooth. With blender on, add oil by drops. Place in glass or plastic container; stir in tarragon. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or until chilled.
• Place steamer basket in 1/2 inch water in saucepan or skillet (water should not touch bottom of basket). Place asparagus in basket. Cover tightly and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Steam 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Serve with mayonnaise.

ASPARAGUS WITH WASABI-MAYONNAISE DIP

Steps:

• Blanch the asparagus in 2 batches in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 1 minute.
• Move to a colander and rinse under cold running water to stop it from cooking.
• Drain well and pat dry.
• Whisk together mayonnaise, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, and wasabi paste until sugar is dissolved.
• Serve asparagus with dip.
• This dip is also good as a spread for sandwiches and as a topping for cooked veggies! Enjoy!

ASPARAGUS WITH BLOOD ORANGE MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Prepare the asparagus by removing the "wooden" part of the stalk.
• Do this by gently bending the spear until it breaks of its own accord.
• This will remove the less edible portion.
• Cut the stalks to equal length for formal presentation.
• Steam asparagus just past al dente, drain and plate.
• Squeeze the juice from the Italian blood orange.
• Slowly mix the juice into the mayonnaise to avoid lumping.
• For extra color and flavor some of the minced zest may be scattered over the spears.
• Plate the spears on an oblong platter with the tips all facing in one direction.
• Run a swath of the seasoned mayonnaise down the center of the asparagus.
• Sprinkle zest over the plate and serve.

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.

CRUDITéS WITH LEMON-GARLIC AïOLI

Steps:

• 1. Mix all the aïoli ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste. The aïoli will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
• 2. Rub a little lemon on the mushrooms to prevent them from turning brown.
• 3. You can make the platter up to a day ahead and store the vegetables in separate Ziploc bags. It's best to blanch the vegetables the morning of the party. (You can blanch the asparagus in boiling water with a teaspoon of baking soda, secured with a rubber band, for 30 seconds. Place the spears in an ice bath and drain-don't leave them in the ice bath or they'll get soggy.) Repeat with the zucchini, blanching it whole, cutting it on an angle to the desired thickness.
• 4. Arrange the veggies on a platter with a bowl of aïoli and scatter the herbs on top if you like.

ASPARAGUS WITH BASIL PESTO MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Snap or cut off tough ends of asparagus spears. In 12-inch skillet, heat 1/2 inch water (salted if desired) to boiling. Add asparagus; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Plunge asparagus into bowl of ice water to cool; drain on paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients, except basil leaves.
• Spoon mayonnaise mixture into small serving bowl; garnish with basil leaves. Serve with blanched asparagus.

ASPARAGUS FRIES WITH SMOKY CHIPOTLE MAYONNAISE DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Blanch asparagus in boiling water about 2 minutes.
• Immediately drain and put asparagus in ice water to stop cooking.
• This will help keep a slight crunch to the asparagus and keep it bright.
• Dry asparagus thoroughly with paper towels.
• Use a little of the reduced fat mayonnaise to coat each asparagus spear, then roll in panko breadcrumbs.
• You can refrigerate at this point if needed.
• Mix mayonnaise and chipotle together with a whisk or in blender.
• Use 1-2 depending on how spicy you like it.
• Heat about 1 inch of oil heat to 370 F in a frying pan, put in asparagus but don't crowd.
• Turn to brown on all sides.
• Drop some dip into the bottom of a champagne flute, add 3-5 asparagus and serve.

ASPARAGUS WITH PARMESAN CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer. Spread Parmesan cheese over asparagus, and season with freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and asparagus is tender but crisp. Serve immediately on warm plates, sprinkling with balsamic vinegar to taste.

BLANCHED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Prepare 1 1/2 pounds medium-thick asparagus (see Rinse and Snap). Have a large bowl of ice water ready. In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Season with 2 tablespoons coarse salt, and add asparagus; boil until tender, 3 to 4 minutes (depending on thickness).
• Remove with tongs, or drain in a colander, and immediately transfer to ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking process. Drain; refrigerate until completely chilled.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package instructions.
• Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Saute asparagus in the pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and mushroom slices; cook 3 minutes more.
• Drain pasta, and transfer to a serving dish. Gently toss pasta with asparagus mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan and crushed red pepper.