Roasted asparagus salad with wild rocket and balsamic-braised nectarines

If I had to pick a favourite season, it would most definitely be spring: not just because you can finally have outdoor-events without freezing your nose of again, but also because a whole lot of delicious fruits and vegetables are in season – just like asparagus. I am especially a fan of green asparagus with its savoury yet mild flavour that works perfectly in a wide range of dishes. This salad is a perfect quick lunch or dinner that you can prepare in less than 15 minutes – and you won’t even have to prepare the dressing for it! The oil from roasting the asparagus and the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar from the braised nectarines will combine to a perfectly delicious dressing that will have you wanting to lick your plate clean. (Believe me, I’ve been there.) You can of course swap a peach for the nectarine – I just used what I could get at my local market. 

Wholemeal pasta salad with green asparagus and garden radish

I know, I know, asparagus season is almost over, so this post may be a little late – but it’s just way to good to not share it with you even in the last moment! I seems to be a quite random combination (well, it was sunday evening, my fridge was almost empty and I was starving…) but the flavours work really great together. I really recommend using wholemeal pasta for this salad, as the nutty flavour is a perfect combination with the green asparagus and crisp garden radish. I personally am a huge fan of wholemeal emmer pasta for its unique taste, but you can also use wholemeal wheat or spelt pasta. For the dressing, I used unsweetend soy yoghurt, though this should also work with any other plant or dairy joghurt.

Wholemeal pasta with green asparagus

I know wholemeal products sometimes have a rather weird image, making people think of self-knitted wool pullovers and space cookies served along with organic lemonade. But you don’t have to be a tree hugger to love wholemeal products – if you haven’t tried them already, do so! They not only have a very delicate taste, but also make you feel ‘full’ for longer, so you won’t go despoiling the fridge this fast ;-). And beside that, you can make delicious dishs from then – just like this: A lovely combination of pasta, asparagus and cherry tomatoes. 

Guest post: Asparagus with mushrooms and potato wedges

I know I haven’t posted anything for a while – I had a big exam coming up, and spend all my days with learning and working through old exam papers. Big fun, I tell you…

But meanwhile, I received an email with the first guest post for The Uni Cookbook from Annegret from Munich! Thank you a lot for the great recipe and the lovely picture! And here we go:

Asparagus risotto with fresh basil and parmesan

You need:

• 200g green asparagus
• 100g risotto rice
• 1 shallot
• 50ml white wine
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
• a pinch of sugar

Wash the asparagus and peel the lower third of it. Cut it in bite-sized pieces and the shallot in thin rings. Meanwhile  heat one tablespoon of the butter in a big pot. Gently roast the shallot for a couple of minutes (take care that it does not get brown!). Then add the risotto rice, roast it shortly and deglaze with the white wine. Pour about one quater of the vegetable stock on top and boil until the rice has absorbed the stock, then use another quarter of the stock. Now add the asparagus and a pinch of salt, and boil again until the rice has absorbed the stock. Carry on with this unitl the rice is done (you might need a bit more or less then 300 ml – the risotto should not be to dry, but very creamy). Season with fresh basil and mix the risotto with the remaining butter and the parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: This dish serves two people.

UPDATE:

Thanks to Annegret for this very sweet picture of her dish – view her comment below to see how she changed the recipe! If you want to send in a picture or ideas for a dish as well, just send me an email to theunicookbook@gmail.com!

Grilled green asparagus with cherry tomatoes

You need:

• 150g green asparagus
• 75g cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of dark balsamic vinegar
• pepper
• salt
• sugar

Wash the asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Peel the bottom of the green asparagus and cut the tomatoes into halves. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the asparagus. Grill the asparagus with a little salt until it gets slightly brown, then add the tomatoes. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar and add a pinch of sugar. Season to taste with pepper and salt. Enjoy this with some freshly-baked bread.