There is an excellent quality green Asparagus on the market at the moment, much better then later in the year when the Cypriot one appears. This is the fourth time this spring I had it for lunch, normally together with potatoes and ham, but today a quicker version with potato dumplings (Ital.Gnocci)
Here is the shopping, of course from Lidl as they had Italian week and I like to get a lot of products then.
I cook the green Asparagus for 8 minutes in salt water, sugar and butter (1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 30 gr butter) until it is tender.
First I cut off 5 cm from the bottom of the stalk to use it later for soup. Then I cut another 5 cm off in case it is stringy and also use it for soup.
To finish it I pour ca 30 gr browned butter on top. The Gnocci are ready after 3 minutes in boiling water and get another minute in browned butter with sage to get some taste to it. Well, and the Italian prosciutto needs only a bit of pepper. Finally some sea salt on top of the asparagus. That's it.
close up
As drink I enjoyed some Cypriot Shiraz Dry Rose which I got from a good friend ....
Max
Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
- cyprusmax47
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Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
Asparagus aren't my thing, but your presentation makes them look very appetising.
Web Designer / Developer. Currently working on Paphos Life.
Living in Polemi, Cyprus with my wife and daughter.
Living in Polemi, Cyprus with my wife and daughter.
Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
My Cypriot next door neighbour, enjoys waking up at ungodly hours, and heads off to the fields to forage, for all sorts of things to eat, now and again he will bring my wife some wild asparagus , wife then cooks them mixed with eggs, very tasty they are too.
- cyprusmax47
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Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
There are two different kinds of wild asparagus (Agrelia) in CY. The quite tasty green one and the black one (mainly very thin). The black one is very bitter for my taste, even when it is mixed in a lot of scrambled eggs. I used to hunt for Agrelia 20 years ago in dry river beds in the area of Pomos below the dams, all winter long with good results (and cheap)...Wild asparagus is less bitter if you boil it in salt/sugar water for a couple of minutes and finish it afterwards in the pan with the eggs.
Max
Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
Am not over keen on wild asparagus, but I do love the fat tame stuff that is grown commercially. Afterwards, the smell in the toilet becomes a little unpleasant for a couple of hours also!
Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
I always snap asparagus near the bottom, it naturally breaks where it's tough.
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- cyprusmax47
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Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
Talking wild asparagus: I just realized that I don't have to walk far as wild asparagus grows in my garden....and garlic does as well
Max
Re: Healthy quick & easy: my cooking today..
Get yourself a few hens, aparagus, eggs in your back garden, happy days.cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:32 amTalking wild asparagus: I just realized that I don't have to walk far as wild asparagus grows in my garden....and garlic does as well
Max