Asparagus Study
>> Wednesday, November 12, 2008
When I saw these asparagus bunches in store, I could not help but taking photos of them. Asparagus is such a pretty vegetable, one cannot deny it. With the simplest set up and the ever lovely unbalanced natural light from my window, the shots were taken with great pleasure. These are one of my most favorite photos to date. And I do mean it.
The real beauty of asparagus, especially in spring or early summer, is in the flavor. In my recent night out, I got to sample a nice salad – a whole ball of fresh creamy mozzarella with chopped young uncooked asparagus with a hint of mint and some other baby leaves. Simple yet fantastic for the warmer we have nowadays.
At home, I tried something slightly different, a little bit more to my taste. Tomatoes are appearing in abundant and I love them with balsamic vinegar. Then, there are the bitter peppery rocket leaves. And of course, one of my discoveries of late – fried haloumi. This cheese is fantastic. It reminds me of firm tofu but a lot creamier and tastier.
The salad can be eaten as it is. Or serve with thick slice of sourdough cibatta. Either way, it is a lovely lunch.
I am sending this entry to Weekend Herb Blogging, which has been transformed while I was absent! Our host of this week is Heather from Diary of a Fanatic Foodie. Please do make your way to her blog for the round up!
Asparagus with tomato salsa, fried haloumi and rocket leaves
Ingredients (for 3)
2 bunches asparagus spears, wooden ends trimmed, blanched
180g haloumi, cut into 1cm slices
Rocket leaves,
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
Balsamic vinegar
A pinch of sugar
Dry oregano – a bit
Method
Mix the diced tomatoes with basalmic vinegar (1/4 cup) + a bit of sugar + oregano. Set aside.
Blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water.
Place a non-stick pan over medium heat. Fry the haloumi slices until golden brown on both sides.
Divide asparagus spears on plate. Followed by haloumi slices, rocket leaves and the tomatoes mixture. Enjoy as a salad or served with bread.
**
And I leave you with a rather unconventional shot of asparagus!
35 comments:
It's one of my favorite shots to date, too, Anh :) I keep forgetting that it's Spring where you are!
You can never go wrong with fried cheese, in my opinion ;)
amazing pictures!!! and what a creative way to serve the asparagus... :)
The asparagus looks beautiful! I miss those that I could pick up fresh from the farmer's market.
What beautiful, beautiful photos Anh. The little heads of the asparagus are pretty aren't they. Tiny little flowers, so unlike any other vegetable.
And your recipe, oh my. I haven't tried asparagus with haloumi, but can imagine it's a glorious combination.
i agree that asparagus has such a lovely taste. i found this recipe on the LURPAK butter website which is very simple- just asparagus with creamed butter so you can really enjoy the asparagus flavour!
Ingredients
Creamed butter
75 g / 3 oz softened LURPAK Slightly Salted Butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1/2 tbsp finely chopped lemon balm leaves
1/4 tsp white wine vinegar
freshly ground pepper
30 green asparagus (approx. 300 g / 11 oz)
3/4 tsp salt
2 litres / 3 1/2 pts water
Accompaniment: 100 g / 4 oz buttered and toasted slices of French stick.
Instructions
Creamed butter: Stir butter with the remaining ingredients and leave, covered, for approx. 30 min. Stir the butter before serving and season. Put it in a small bowl.
Add asparagus to boiling salted water and cook for 2-3 min., according to thickness. Leave to drain in a sieve and distribute them on plates.
Serve warm asparagus with the creamed butter.
Hope you like it!
perfect combination of vegies and lovely photos - I have had asparagus with haloumi and lentil salad which is a great way to enjoy it too - but just can't resist the lovely cheap bunches of asparagus at the moment!
Lovely photos, so lively and vibrant! Love your jug, too...
I can't remember the last time I had fried haloumi! yumyum
Awww...this looks great. I'm loving the pics too!
-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Your photos are stunning! I love asparagus, so you recipe has me drooling!
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, wow! I haven't been keeping up with my blogging recently, and have missed lots of good things! I love your unconventional photo of the asparagus...so beautiful, and could rival any flower arrangement. :-)
And with your stellar photography skills, you certainly make asparagus shine!
I don't think I have ever seen more beautiful aparagus photographs.
Anh these photos are gorgeous as usual! The asparagus look so pretty and green!
Such beautiful photos -- I love halloumi cheese so I'll keep this in mind when I buy some
Love, love, love these photos!!! They turned out really well. The open sandwich looks good too!
mmm.. I love asparagus.
What a gorgeous picture and what a great way to prepare them. Yum! I can't wait for asparagus season to return here.
I don’t know on how I stumbled upon this cooking blog., All I know is that I’d better check out the archives for a good read. Ha-ha! Just droppin’ to say hi!
Oh. You might want to check this out: http://www.technocooks.com for uhm…a different “menu.”
sounds nice!
I m just testing your recipe for mango souffle, hope it works!
I really shouldn't read Aussie food blogs, I simply get too jealous. I have to bear in mind that you are probably jealous as well during OUR spring and summer when we post recipes like this. I've often wished I were rich enough to 'follow' spring and summer around the globe, you know, have homes in many places so that I can always have fresh spring and summer produce all year around. (I DID manage to freeze quite a bit of asparagus and other produce this year, but it just isn't the same.) For instance, there would be no way to make this salad with frozen asparagus and tomatoes.
Can't wait to try your recipe...sounds like a lovely combination of flavours. The tomatoes and asparagus at the market are so beautiful at the moment!
sounds nice!
brilliante menu!!!
Loved the recipe. Tried it and enjoyed it> delicious!!!!
I wouldn't have thought asparagus could be so decorative. Enjoyable blog.
Keep it up!
Yes, I love asparagus, too, but tend to leave them on the shelf this time of the year when all asparagus is improved from somewhere else. In the springs, we go into asparagus overdose--eat the virtually daily.
Leave white asparagus alone: high priced and the same flavor as ordinary green.
Check out my latest (Nov/08):
Tried and True Recipes from a Caterer’s Kitchen—Secrets of Making Great Foods
www.eloquentbooks.com/TriedandTrueRecipes.html
www.howfoodswork.blogspot.com
Love your pictures!
Lovely asparagus shots! What a nice reminder that not everyone is buried in snow now.
Happy New Year!
Wonderful pictures!!!!
http://lovelycraving.blogspot.com/
Oh Anh, I've stared long and hard at these asparagus shots - when are you coming back with a story, a recipe, a cake or so?
Your photo's are gorgeous!
Your recipe sounds lovely and fresh. If you lke haloumi just thought I would mention a recipe I saw on Jamie Oliver's latest show other day. It was a salad which combined fried haloumi with prosciutto, strawberries, rocket and salad leaves, and a balsamic olive oil dressing.
Sharnee
These are stunning photos of the Asparagus. I think I like the one with the slices of bread. Well, maybe I'm a little bias lol.
Great clicks!
I love to simply steam them and enjoy these beauties along with my food.
Lovely, lovely pictures and the haloumi looks fab!
amazing photos! it makes the asparagus look really great!
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I have to admit, those are really fantastic photos :)And a neat combination too. Never tried them together before.
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