Sweet • Sour • Savory

Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.

Appetizer

Asparagus

Asparagus with Sauce Mousseline

Appetizer, Vegetables, SauceTove Balle-PedersenComment

Asparagus with Sauce Mousseline and shrimps.

Fresh white asparagus is a spring favorite. Here I mixed the expensive white asparagus with some cheaper green ones, making it obvious that the white asparagus are a tad sweeter.

Sauce Mousseline is basically a Hollandaise sauce, where you fold in some soft whipped cream. making as lighter, more airy sauce.

You can serve this as an appetizer or as a main dish by adding some green lettuce and a slice of good bread.

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients:

  • 8 white asparagus

  • 8 green asparagus

  • 1 tablespoon butter (for cooking the asparagus)

  • 1 teaspoon salt (for cooking the asparagus)

  • green lettuce, I used field salad/cornsalad/mache lettuce

  • hollandaise sauce

  • heavy whipping cream, you need about 2-3 tablespoons soft whipped cream

  • 150 g cold water schrimp

Directions:

Make the Hollandaise sauce, and make it come to room temperature. Whisk the cream to a soft peak, so it’s ready to fold into the hollandaise just before serving.

Wash all the asparagus.

The green ones: Hold each spear about half way down its length and at the thick end. Now bend it until it snaps. Discard the  little stub, or use it for flavor in a soup or casserole. 

The white ones: Cut just under 1 inch (2 cm) off the bottom. Using a vegetable peeler, and starting just under the tip of each spear, peel away the tough outer layer.
Bring about 2 inches (5 cm) water to a boil in a a large shallow pot, add salt and butter. Add the white asparagus and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the green asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes, until the spears are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a dry kitchen towel to briefly dry. Serve the asparagus immediately placing it on top of some green lettuce.

Fold in the soft whipped cream in the room temperature hollandaise, so it ends up light and airy. Spoon the now sauce mousseline over the asparagus and sprinkle the shrimps on top before serving.

Enjoy!

Cold Asparagus Soup

Appetizer, Dinner, SoupTove Balle-PedersenComment
Cold Asparagus Soup

Cold Asparagus Soup

I have always known an asparagus soup as a white hot creamy soup. And there is nothing wrong with the classic soup, not at all. But for me it's more a soup for the winter months. The fine new delicate white asparagus you're able to get in the stores or farmers markets in the spring has a sweet and delicate taste, which is perfect in a cool soup like this. 

Serves 10 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

  • 2 bunches white asparagus, washed, peeled and sliced, save the tops for later
  • 3 leeks, only the white part, washed and sliced
  • 750 ml water
  • 1 tablespoon chicken paste (I use Better than Bouillon*)
  • ¾ cup (1½ dl) white wine, use a non oaky one
  • ½ cup (1 dl) dry sherry (I used a cooking sherry)
  • 227 g creme fraiche (I used Cowgirl Creamy Creme Fraiche)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt to taste

Toppings:

  • dry chorizo, thinly sliced and fried to crispy
  • asparagus tops (save some of the tops, and blanch them briefly)

Directions:

Bring water, chicken paste, wine and sherry to a simmer in a medium pot over high heat. Add asparagus and leeks and cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-12 minutes, for thin to medium thick asparagus. Transfer asparagus and leeks to a blender with a small amount of the liquid. Add the creme fraiche and some of the lemon juice, and blend until smooth. Add more of the cooking liquid if the blended soup is too thick.  Season the soup with salt and lemon juice.

In the leftover cooing liquid, give the asparagus tops a quick blanching. (Bring to a boil, and quickly cool down in ice water.) Put the tops in the refrigerator.

Chill the soup in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Just before serving fry up the chorizo until crispy.

Serve the soup in small glass bowls with a small amount of topping.

Enjoy.

 

* I use Better Than Bouillon pastes in my dishes. I think it has a better flavor than the dry bouillon cubes or other brand name stocks. And I think that the paste has seen real ingredients like chicken, beef and vegetables. But I do believe that du get the best flavor by using your own homemade stock. But to be honest, I rarely have time to make homemade stocks. 

Inspired by "Spise med Price"

The Danish version:

 

Kold aspargessuppe

10 portioner som forret. 

Ingredienser:

  • 2 Bundter hvide asparges, vaskede, skrællede, gem toppene til senere.
  • 3 porrer, kun den hvide del, vaskede og skivede
  • 750 ml vand
  • 1 spsk kyllinge pasta eller en hønsebouillonterning
  • 1½ dl hvidvin
  • 1 dl tør sherry 
  • 227 g creme fraiche (minimum 18%, men helst 38%)
  • 2 spsk citronsaft
  • salt efter smag

Toppings:

  • chorizo, tyndskåret og stegt sprød
  • aspargestoppe (blancheret kort)

Fremgangsmåde:

Kog vand, bouillon, vin og sherry op i en gryde sammen med de skrællede asparges (minus hovederne) og porrer. Kog indtil aspargesne er møre, men stadig har lidt bid. ca.  8-12 minutter, alt efter tykkelse. Kom de kogte porrer og asparges over i en blender sammen med lidt af kogelagen, creme fraiche og lidt af citronsaften. Blend det indtil du får en jævn og ensartet suppe. Tilsæt mere af kogelagen, hvis suppen bliver for tyk. Smag suppen til med salt og citronsaft.

I den overskydende kogelage blancheres aspargeshovederne. (De bringes i kog og køles hurtigt ned i isvand.) Kom de blancherede hoveder i køleskabet indtil de skal bruges.

Afkøl suppen i køleskabet i minimum 3 timer før servering, eller natten over.

Lige før suppen skal serveres steges tynde skiver af choizoen til den bliver sprød.

Server suppen i små glasskåle eller glas, og kom lidt aspargeshoveder og choizo på toppen.

Velbekomme!