Asparaguses!

It was a bit too quiet over here lately. I’m really sorry for this. The fact is that one month ago I came to San Francisco and got swallowed by a city. During the first weeks I got so excited that I’ve decided to taste as many local goodies as possible. I ate a lot and definitely too often and I do not regret anything. The only disadvantage is that I did not cook as much as I’d like.  

After this one month I fell in love with  San Francisco even more. Local winter is much better than a German one. When I was leaving Berlin, it was sleeping under a quilt of snow, the next day in San Francisco it was over 15*C! Is it really a winter? Hard to say. But I won’t complain, as apparently I’ve missed the most depressive winter they had in Germany for years. Also,  I love having all this fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables around. Tomasz got addicted to California’s oranges, he eats it each day.

But let’s come back to a cooking subject. I am very happy to see asparaguses around. It was almost impossible to buy them in Berlin before I left. I love them and I’d like to share few recipes with you. It’s not a typical breakfast recipe (if it is at all), but sharing is caring and maybe you’ll like them. I have one more for an asparagus salad with glazed pear and blue cheese, if you’re interested, I’ll share it as well :)

Asparagus in pannier

• asparaguses, a bunch or as many as you like
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp parmesan
• 1 tsp herbs de Provence
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Wash asparaguses and cut off ends. Prepare three plates. Spread flour on the first one, beat the egg on another and on a third combine bread crumbs, parmesan and herbs de Provence. Now coat each asparagus with ingredients from 1-2-3 plate. Place them on a baking tray covered with a baking paper, spread with the olive oil, add a bit of salt, pepper and bake in 180*C for about 15 minutes (observe it after 10 minutes, you don’t want it to burn).

Asparagus fried with prosciutto

• asparaguses, a bunch or as many as you like
• few slices of prosciutto, one for each asparagus
• parmesan to serve with
• olive oil for frying

Roll each asparagus in prosciutto and fry on a pan with a bit of the olive oil (on a medium heat). Easy to make and delicious. I like to spread it with parmesan. Yummy!

Asparagus in a beer dough

• asparaguses, a bunch or as many as you like
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup dark beer
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs, chopped
• 2 cups oil for frying

In a bowl mix flour, beer, lemon zest, salt, sugar and herbs. Wash asparaguses and cut off the ends.  In a bigger pot or a deep frying pan heat the oil. Coat each asparagus with a dough and fry it in an oil untill the dough is fried and golden (about 3-4 minutes). I flipped them with a barbeque tonges. It tastes amazing with a dip made out of yogurt, lime juice and mint. 

If you like beer recipes, check out beer bread or cheddar, beer and mustard pull-apart bread.

Enjoy, Marta

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