Spring Preview: Oven Baked Asparagus with Parmesan and Prosciutto

Winter has been long and chilly and everybody is longing for the first signs of spring.
We were lucky to escape the cold weather by the end of January when we travelled back to Peru and are now enjoying summer at it's best.

Here it's Asparagus season - a veggie we all love.
Back in our Austrian country home, my grandfather used to grow his own Asparagus in the vegetable garden.
Harvest time was from the end of April until the end of June (usual finishing at St Johns Day, the 24th of June)
I still remember the excitement when watching him cutting this delicacy so that our cook ( as most of the outstanding Central European cooks coming originally from  the Czech Republic) could prepare it as fresh as possible.
Nobody ever dared to come late for dinner because my grandfather took punctuality for this special dinner as serious as you can possibly imagine.
It was served after delicately cooking in slightly buttered salt water with a bit sugar added to enhance the flavor.
Served with a wonderful Sauce Hollandaise that literally melted in your mouth and matched the delicate asparagus flavor perfectly, this meal was as close as one could possibly be to culinary heaven.
One of the great qualities of asparagus is it's versatility.
The key to great taste is freshness and not to overcook this delicate veggie.
Todays preparation is quick and tastes fantastic.
You need only a few ingredients and the flavors and textures pair very well.
A great sneak or appetizer as well as a light meal, it will bring a bit of spring time feeling to your table.
I wanted to apologies for the poor quality of some of the pictures but I had some problems with  my camera.

You need:

1 bunch (about 1/2kg) green asparagus
1/4  cup melted butter
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
100g thinly sliced Prosciutto or Serrano ham, halved
1teaspoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
Coarse salt and freshly grated pepper (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 220 C ( 425F)
cut the ends of the asparagus off (don't throw them away, they make a great cream soup!), leaving you with about 9 cm spears from the tip to the middle of the spear.

Blanch the asparagus for just 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water with a bit of salt.

Drain and pat dry with paper towel.
Brush with melted butter.

Coat in grated parmesan cheese

Wrap each asparagus with a 1/2 a slice of prosciutto.

season with salt and freshly ground pepper (I recommend very little salt as the parmesan and prosciutto are already salty)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place asparagus onto  the baking sheet

and bake for about 7 minutes or until parmesan is golden brown.

Sprinkle with a bit of Olive oil and lemon juice (optional)

Enjoy!

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Baked Camembert In A Box With Pear Chutney

 I don't know if that has happened to you as well, but lately I had problems with my comment box.
Several of my readers wrote me on FB that they were unable to comment because there was no comment box at the post page.
I'm really sorry for this inconvenience and want to thank them for trying and often insisting, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.
Thanks a million, I really appreciate it, comments are the soul food for all of us bloggers, the feedback that let us know your thoughts , suggestions and support.
The other issue was that after a certain amount of comments ( usually about 50) no other comments entered. I could read them by E-mail but they didn't appear on my post and I was unable to reply.
Suggestions or proposals for solutions are highly appreciated. :))

But now let's  go back to a much more pleasant subject.
As you may have noticed  when reading my last posts, I'm still a bit cheeseaholic and discovered a delightful recipe watching a cooking program on TV last week that presented baked Camembert in a box with crunchy crostini.
As I had some fresh pears at home, I thought it might be a good idea to prepare a pear chutney and pair it with the warm Camembert.
The result was delicious- the warm,melted Camembert with a mild Rosemary fragrance matched very well with the spicy sweetness of the Chutney.
A real danger on our table - we could have repeated once or twice sans regret! 

Here is what you need :
2 whole Camemberts in its box
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig Rosemary

For the pear chutney

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 kg ripe but firm pears, cored and cut into 1/4 dices
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I didn't have brown sugar at hand so I used white granulated sugar, but I recommend brown sugar for this recipe)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly grated garlic
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nut meg
1 teaspoons brown or black mustard sheets
A good pinch of Tumeric or Saffron  to add color
1 sprig rosemary
Salt

Method:
Peel and grate the ginger, set aside.

Peel and core the pears, cut into medium dices.
Heat a large pan with the oil and add pears,ginger,garlic and rosemary.

Fry until pears soften slightly, than add the sugar, cloves, mustard sheets and nutmeg until fruits start to caramelize.
Add the cider vinegar, bring to a boil,turn down the heat and let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and begins to thicken.
Stir frequently during this process, so the pears won't stick.
Do not overcook, the pears should keep their shape.
Add Saffron or Tumeric, season with salt.

Remove Rosemary sprig. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Sprinkle with chopped rosemary.


Baked Camembert in a box.
Method:
Preheat the oven at 180C / 350F
Remove any plastic packaging from the cheese, put the camembert back in its box.

Cut off the top layer of the skin.
With the help of a knife, insert some rosemary tips and garlic slices.

Dizzle with olive oil.

 Bake in the hot oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the cheese is melted.

Some cheesy leftovers from the baking tray ,mmh :)

 Decorate with rosemary sprigs and some dried cranberries.

Serves 2. Bon Appetit!
See you next week.
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Gratinated scallops a la Parmesana (Conchitas a la parmesana)

I adore seafood and right now I'm living in the perfect country for seafood lovers.
Cause of the cold Humboldt current that  flows along the Peruvian coastline, fish and seafood is of excellent quality. The current is supporting an extraordinary abundance of marine life and is rich in biodiversity.
There are many restaurants specialized in "Pescados y mariscos " from the most humble and basic to the most sophisticated with internationally renowned Chefs who create wonderful new Fusion dishes.
It is always inspiring to visit this places and try to recreate some of the dishes that we enjoyed and give them a new twist or a different presentation.
Today I felt like preparing one of the classics of Peruvian cuisine "conchitas a la parmesana" or
" Parmesan gratinated scallops "
It's  delicious, very uncomplicated and  once finished it looks like you would have spent hours in the kitchen. Compliments for the chef are granted :)
This recipe is great as an entrance or appetizer, and the only difficulty is that it tends to disappear so fast that you better prepare always more than originally planned.

This is what you need:
 12 large scallops on the half shell
1 1/2 cup freshly grated, mild Parmesan cheese
3 tsp. butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime and some fresh Parsley for decoration
*Optional: 1 Spoonful Peruvian Pisco ( can be replaced with Grappa or Whisky)

Method:
With the help of a spoon remove the scallops from the half shell. Remove the red side muscle ( it has a lot of cholesterol!) and the black vein.
Clean the scallops carefully under rinsing water
Place them again on the half shell

 or on an oven proofed porcelain spoon.

Season very slightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

Put a small piece of butter on each scallop.

Cover each scallop with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.

If desired sprinkle with some drops of Pisco.

 
Bake under the broiler for about 4 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Serve with fresh limes and some parsley.

Serve immediately.

 
Serves 12 portions.
Enjoy!

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See you next week.

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Figs Au Gratin With Goat Cheese And Crisp Prosciutto

Figs Au Gratin With Goat Cheese And Crisp Prosciutto

This dish reminds me of the wonderful years we spent in Italy.

It brings back the memories  of sun kissed, soft hills in Tuscany and the smell of rosemary and lemon blossoms.

So, if you want to bring a bit of an Italian holiday feeling on your table, this is the perfect dish!  

You need:

6 ripe green or black figs, halved lengthwise

6 thin slices of Prosciutto , halved

1 ½ teaspoon of honey

1 spoonful of extra virgin olive oil

200g of mild, soft goat cheese (or mild Gorgonzola)

1 teaspoon of finely chopped Rosemary

Rosemary sprigs for decoration

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to  250 °C

Crisp prosciutto (as described in  post: Poached eggs with spinach and crisp Prosciutto)

Place Prosciutto on a baking sheet. If you want the Prosciutto extra crisp brush with a bit of olive oil.

Bake in preheated oven at 200°C (375 F) for about 15 minutes or until Prosciutto starts to crinkle.

To drain the excess fat, place the baked Prosciutto on a paper towel.

The Prosciutto will crisp after cooling down.

Mix Goat cheese, olive oil, rosemary, pepper and  salt (if necessary) until creamy.

Cut fig halves carefully crosswise and fill with the goat cheese mixture.

Sprinkle with a bit of honey.

Place in a baking dish.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until goat cheese begins to bubble slightly.

Remove and decorate with crisp prosciutto and rosemary sprigs.

Serves 12 portions. Enjoy!

See you next Tuesday.

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