Asparagus-Cream Cheese Rolls in Prosciutto with Vinaigrette

Asparagus-Cream Cheese Rolls in Prosciutto with Vinaigrette
As shared from the kitchen of Once Upon a Plate by Mari 
(www.onceuponaplate1.com)


Yield: It's entirely flexible.  You'll need 3 asparagus stalks, 1 slice of prosciutto, and 1  tablespoon of cream cheese for each roll.


Instructions: Wash and trim any tough end stalks from asparagus, cutting the lengths an inch or two longer that the prosciutto is wide.


Have ready a big bowl of water with plenty of ice cubes in it.


Plunge asparagus spears into a large pot of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes (until JUST barely tender.)  Immediately remove and place in bowl of iced water.  Leave in ice water for a couple of minutes until spears are cold. Drain well on clean dish towel or paper towels.


Spread each prosciutto slice with about 1 tablespoon of softened cream cheese, leaving 1/2 inch at one of the prosciutto end bare (to help seal the roll.)  Lay 3 asparagus spears crosswise, (at the cream cheese end) on the prepared prosciutto, roll gently but firmly towards the "unfrosted" end. Place seam side down on serving platter, or individual plates.


For the vinaigrette ~ only a tablespoon or less is required to drizzle on each roll.
(Recipe easily doubled or tripled if you are making a large quantity of asparagus rolls):


1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, crushed and minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (can mix in with the vinaigrette, or reserve and sprinkle as garnish.)


Combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a bowl; whisk well. Stir in the chives and salt and pepper.


Enjoy!




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Softly Poached Eggs on Crispy Sweet Potato Hash Browns, Asparagus with Horseradish Cream Sauce

Softly Poached Egg on Crispy Sweet Potato Hash Browns, Asparagus with Horseradish Cream Sauce
4 servings

As Shared from the Kitchen of Once Upon a Plate

2 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
6 large eggs
sea salt and cracked black pepper
vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
8 to 12 spears asparagus, trimmed and blanched

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

1 tablespoon very finely grated horseradish
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
sea salt and cracked black pepper

First, make the Creamy Horseradish Sauce:
In a small bowl, stir the horseradish, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a until well combined. Set aside.

For the Sweet Potato Hash Browns:
In a medium bowl mix the shredded sweet potato, 2 eggs, salt and pepper until combined evenly.

Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Divide sweet potato mixture into fourths and place the portions into the hot oil, cook until golden and crispy (for about 3 minutes) on each side. Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm. If your pan is not large enough to cook all hash brown portions at once, cook in batches, and keep warm until all are cooked.

To poach the eggs:
Heat a few inches of water in a deep frying pan over low heat until just simmering. Add the vinegar and use a wooden spoon to create a whirlpool. Crack each egg into a small shallow bowl or saucer~ gently and carefully slip the egg into the water. Poach the eggs for 3−4 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and drain well. Alternately, you may use an egg poaching pan, or electric egg poacher to cook the eggs.


To assemble:

Top the hash browns with the asparagus and eggs and spoon over the creamy horseradish sauce, serve right away.


Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay

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Asparagus & Lemon Risotto

The recipe I used this time is from British chef Nigel Slater, from his BBC television program "The Kitchen Diaries."

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto
Serves 2 generously


Nigel's notes: "You could use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. The flavour will be much the same, but your risotto will lack the soul, not to mention the silky texture, that can only be achieved with a fine, gelatinous chicken stock. "


Ingredients:



50g/1¾ ounces butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

200g/7 ounces arborio rice

125ml/4½ fluid ounceswhite wine or white vermouth

1 litre/1¾ pints hot chicken stock

400g/14 ounces asparagus, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 lemons, zest and juice

3 tbsp grated parmesan


Method:



I keep the stock/broth on a low flame near the risotto pan, it is crucial that the stock/broth be hot when stirring into the rice.



Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a very low heat. Peel the onion and chop it finely. Don't fry the finely chopped onion, instead allow it to soften in the butter, stirring from time to time so that it does not brown but instead becomes "translucent and silky".



Stir in the rice, folding the grains over briefly in the butter with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine or vermouth and allow it to gently simmer until the wine has nearly all evaporated. While the wine is reducing slice asparagus into 1/2 to 3/4-inch pieces. (I reserve all of the tips for garnish, steam or microwave them until just crisp tender, and still bright green.)



Add a large ladleful (about 8 ounces) of hot stock to the rice, turn the heat up a bit, then let the liquid almost disappear before adding the pieces of asparagus and a second ladle of stock. Continue adding the stock as it boils down to almost nothing.



Stir the rice often, grating and squeezing the lemons as the rice is cooking.



Season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and juice and continue cooking till the rice is creamy but has a bit of texture left in it. Stir in the cheese and eat immediately.







Recipe adapted from Nigel Slater.

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