Prosciutto with Asparagus
8 slices of prosciutto, sliced very thin
1 pound of asparagus spears, with the tough ends snapped off and cooked
1 cup of parmesan cheese
Butter for baking dish
1. Spread the prosciutto out on a cutting board.
2. Put spears on ½ of each slice.
3. Arrange on a buttered baking dish and sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.
4. Slide this under the broiler and stand there for 1 minute – just enough time to melt the cheese and warm the dish but not overcook the ham.
Serves 8
Italian Roasted Vegetables
2 yellow peppers — cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers — cut into chunks
2 green peppers — cut into chunks
3 zucchini — sliced lengthwise
2 bunches green onions — trimmed
2 japanese eggplant — sliced
24 whole asparagus spears — trimmed
1 pound baby new potatoes — sliced thin
8 ounces mushrooms — halved or whole
1 bunch fresh rosemary — chopped
12 cloves garlic — chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper — to taste
Preheat oven to 500:. Put veggies into open roasting pan. Toss with rosemary, chopped garlic, salt and fresh ground black pepper and just enough olive oil to coat. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until crisp tender.
NOTES : Serve hot or at room temp. with fresh Italian bread, not toasted.
Hors d’ Oeuveres
Roll 1/2 strip bacon around large stuffed olives, broil 5 minutes. Serve hot.
Balls of softened cream cheese on toothpicks, rooled in minced olives, parsley, dried beer or grated carrots.
Roll cocktail size shrimp in half slices of bacon, broil until crisp. Serve hot.
Spread 4 squares ham slices with softened cream cheese seasoned onion, olives, mustard. Place slices together like a layer cake. Spread cheese over top and sides. Decorate with diced olives. Chill. cut into wedges.
Cur crusts from sliced bread. Mix mayonnaise and minced onions. Spread on bread. roll around canned asparagus spears. chill and slice into rounds before serving.
Cream of asparagus soup with Morels
Servings: 4
8 Thin green asparagus spears
6 Fat green asparagus spears,
– about 10 cm (4 in) long
1 Shallot, medium-sized
100 g Fresh morels (3 1/2 oz) or
– 15 g (1/2 oz) dried ones
100 g Unsalted butter (3 1/2 oz)
200 ml Double cream (scant 1/2 pint
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Preparation
Clean the asparagus spears and cook the thin ones for about 5 minutes and the fat ones for about 10 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain both kinds and reserve the water in which they cooked. Cut off the tips of the eight thin spears and set them aside for the garnish.
Peel and chop the shallot finely. Wash the morels CAREFULLY and cut them into quarters (if you are using dried ones, soak them in water for at least half an hour before this step).
Heat half the butter in a saucepan. Add two-thirds of the chopped shallot and colour in the butter. Add the six fat asparagus spears and 200 ml (a scant 1/2 pint) of their reserved cooking water. Bring to the boil.
Add the cream and reduce it by boiling fast for 2 minutes. Liquidise the soup with 30g (1 oz) of the remaining butter. Wash out the saucepan.
Strain the liquidized soup through a fine sieve. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne, and return it to the cleaned saucepan. Set it aside.
Finishing
Reheat the thin asparagus tips by warming them through in a little of their cooking liquid. Reheat the asparagus soup.
Put the morels, the rest of the chopped shallot and the remaining 20 g (3/4 oz) butter into a small saucepan. Season with a little salt and cook gently. The morels will excludea little liquid. Leave them to cook until they have given off all their liquid, at which stage they will be done.
Take them off the heat.
Serving
Put a ladleful of the soup into each soup-plate. Garnish the centre of each one with a share of morels and two asparagus tips.
Asparagus and sesame chicken soup
2 lbs Chicken
2 c Warm water
3 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Sugar
6 Slices ginger root
1/2 c Button mushrooms, canned
1/2 c Medium sherry
8 Fresh asparagus spears
1/2 tsp Salt
Wash chicken, remove fat pockets, pat dry, and chop into bite-size pieces. NOTE: if tempted to use breast Meat without bones, please don’t; bones add to body and flavor of Soup.
Peel and slice ginger root. Wash and cut asparagus into 2″ sections. Braising: Heat wok to medium Hot. Add sesame oil. Start braising chicken a few pieces at a time when oil begins to smell. Sesame oil will burn at lower temperature than other cooking oils, so avoid Hot wok. After browning lightly, return chicken pieces to wok; add ginger slices, sherry and salt.
When sherry boils, add water and Sugar. Turn up heat, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add mushrooms and asparagus, simmer for another 15 minutes. Transfer to covered Soup tureen (or put plate on top of Soup bowl), place in steamer on low, and hold until ready to serve. You can make this Soup in large Sauce pan, if wok is needed for something else.