Last week my mum bought Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbook 'Hugh's Three Good Things on a Plate', and whilst flicking through it his recipe using potatoes, asparagus and halloumi caught my eye. So yesterday I decided to make myself this dish for my lunch, using a fresh bunch of homegrown asparagus before the British Asparagus Season ends in mid-June. Here's how it turned out...
It tasted so good, after I'd finished my big plateful I wish I'd made enough to have seconds! Unfortunately I was only cooking for myself, so had adjusted the recipe quantities to make only 1 portion :( This dish makes a great lunch, or Hugh suggests serving it with sourdough bread to make a more filling meal of it.
Recipe - Hugh's Take Three Good Things - Potatoes, Asparagus & Halloumi
Serves 4
Ingredients:
600 - 700g new potatoes
4-5 cloves garlic (unpeeled), bashed
2 tbsp olive oil
400g asparagus
225g halloumi
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to season
A tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Cut the potatoes into small chunks. Pour the olive oil into a roasting tray and then add the garlic and potatoes with some salt & pepper to season.
2. Whilst the potatoes are roasting, trim the ends of the asparagus and chop the spears into 3-4cm lengths. Cut the halloumi into small cubes (approx. 2cm)
3. Add the asparagus and halloumi to the potatoes once the 30 minutes have passed. Toss the ingredients to combine. Return the roasting tray to the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and discard the garlic cloves. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice and toss all the ingredients together. Before serving you can scatter over some parsley if desired.
After this success I'm keen to try out more of the recipes from Hugh's cookbook, although there are so many tasty looking things I can't quite decide which to try next! The cookbook is currently available on Amazon for a very reasonable £9.99 (see here).
Lisa x
It's currently the British asparagus season so I've been trying to make the most of it! I was first inspired whilst reading my April/May 2013 copy of 'Jamie' Magazine, which had a picture of a very tasty looking asparagus tart on the front and a feature called 'Spear of the Moment'.
One of the recipes was for a Asparagus and Pecorino tart which reminded me of a recipe I've had saved in my 'online recipe binder' on the BBC Good Food website for quite a long time - 'Asparagus and Parmesan Pastries'. I really fancied an asparagus tart for my lunch today, so decided to try this recipe over the Jamie Oliver one as I had all the ingredients needed already in my kitchen and it also looked a little more speedy & simple to make (I wasn't feeling particularly energetic this morning!)
I only needed to feed two people, so halved the recipe and it turned out well - they didn't take too long to prepare, and they were very straightforward to make. I'll definately be making them again.
Recipe: Asparagus and Parmesan Tarts
To serve 2
Ingredients:
3 tbsp mascarpone
20g Parmesan, grated
a handful of finely chopped basil (I just roughly tore mine into small bits)
zest of ½ a small lemon
half a pack of ready-rolled puff pastry (I used Sainsbury's own 375g pack)
asparagus spears (I used 6 spears per tart)
½ tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Heat the oven to 200°C.
- Mix the mascarpone and the grated parmesan, basil, lemon zest and season.
- Cut the ready-rolled puff pastry in half to form the base of two tarts. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
- Score around the edges of each tart to make a thin border, then spread the mascarpone mixture within these borders.
- Wash and trim the asparagus to the right length for each tart. Toss the spears in oil, then arrange on top of the puff pastry.
- Bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Serve with salad if desired.
I adapted the original recipe to make 2 tarts - the recipe to serve 4 people can be found on the BBC Good Food website here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/6671/asparagus-and-parmesan-pastries
I recommend giving this recipe a try whilst British asparagus is still in season - until mid-June.
Lisa x
