Roasted Asparagus and Green Garlic with a Fried Egg

Certain ingredients come in season at the same time and practically beg you to cook them together, like strawberries and rhubarb or tomatoes and basil. To that list, add green garlic and asparagus--they're both welcome bursts of green at the end of winter, with flavors that make you want to do a no-more-winter-squash victory dance.

This was originally intended as a side dish, and you could certainly leave out the fried egg and serve it that way. But as springtime progresses and more and more delicious vegetables become available, consider this: fried egg plus anything equals meal, zapping your prep time and enabling you to enjoy the extra daylight.

Green garlic, as we've mentioned before, is worth seeking out. But if the farmer's markets haven't started up where you are yet, you can certainly do this with a crushed clove of garlic or even a finely chopped leek in lieu of the green garlic.

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, chopped into 1 and 1/2 inch pieces
3 stalks green garlic, white and pale green parts only, diced (you can use the floppy dark green part for vegetable stock)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
2 eggs
Thinly sliced Jarlsberg or Gruyere cheese, for the top

Preheat oven to 375. Toss asparagus, green garlic, olive oil and salt together on a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until asparagus is tender, with touches of brown.

When asparagus is ready, fry eggs. Top each egg with the asparagus and a slice of cheese. Eat, and then get yourself outside!

Asparagus and Leek Quiche

Ezra helped with this recipe by breaking the asparagus into pieces (while eating most of the tips),  spreading the cheese into the pie pan (while breaking off pieces of the crust to eat) and cutting the butter (and eating it, then cutting again, and eating it, and then finally cutting one last piece for the recipe). 

Maybe I should have fed him before we started.

I experimented with putting the eggs and milk in a jar so he could shake instead of stir.  (I'm not willing to see my precious backyard chicken eggs splattered all over the kitchen.)  His chubby toddler arms didn't really have the strength to blend the eggs, but it was fun.

Asparagus and Leek Quiche

1 tablespoon butter
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
1 cup of chopped asparagus
1 cup shredded cheese (I mixed gouda and parmesan)
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
black pepper
1 pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Heat the butter in a skillet, then saute the leeks and asparagus until the asparagus is al dente. 

Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and black pepper.

Spread the cheese in the bottom of the crust, then add the asparagus and leeks.  Pour the egg mixture over the top. 

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is set.

South Indian Asparagus

It's springtime again, and that means another season of asparagus dishes! This year, it's found a home in our South Indian repertoire, brought to life by the usual suspects of mustard seeds, shallots, turmeric and chiles. Once again, if you can't find curry leaves or urad dal, just leave them out.

1 tablespoon oil or ghee
1 teaspo0n mustard seeds
2 shallots, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 dried red chile, broken into three pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1 bunch asparagus (about 30 stalks), cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high-heat. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Stand back and allow them to fruy until the dal takes on a toasted color, about two minutes. Add the shallots and stir for another minute or two, only until the shallots are no longer raw. Stir in the turmeric, chile and curry leaves. As soon as the curry leaves begin to crackle, toss in the asparagus, salt and a tablespoon of water. Stir continuously, still over medium-high heat, adding a few more sprinkles of water if the asparagus gets dry. Once the asparagus is tender-crisp (5-10 minutes), remove from heat and serve immediately.

Springtime Potato and Asparagus Curry

On the topic of food pairings that scream "Woohoo! Winter is over," let's talk new potatoes and asparagus. They're a common couple (usually on that wedding-reception plate with the salmon option and some lemon wedges), but this time we've spiced them up with an aromatic coconut-tomato sauce, because we're breakaway cooks like that.

You might wonder whether it's worth it to roast potatoes before adding them to a curry. A friend suggested it when she tasted another of our potato curries and we were very pleased with the results. The potatoes get a chance to concentrate their sugars and caramelize a little, and the texture is awesome.


3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
12-15 small waxy potatoes (we used red creamers), diced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch chunk of ginger, finely minced
1 small bunch (about 15-20 spears) asparagus, chopped into 1-inch segments
1 cup pureed tomatoes (we used canned, but if you want to make this later in the summer, fresh could work too)
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon tumeric
salt to taste
plain yogurt for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, spices and salt in a small bowl. In a baking pan, toss potatoes with the oil mixture and bake for 40-45 minutes, until tender and browned.

When potatoes are almost done, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large stockpot on medium-high. Add cumin and mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Next, throw in the shallots and ginger and stir for a minute or two. Add the asparagus and saute until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, cayenne and turmeric. Stir well, then transfer the roasted potatoes to the stock pot. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until liquid has reduced a bit, to let the flavors steep. Adjust salt and serve over rice, with a dollop of plain yogurt if desired.

Peanut-Tamarind Noodles with Spring Vegetables

Mung bean thread are a great addition to your pantry--they're cheap, a good source of protein, and require no actual cooking, which makes them ideal for a spring evening when you want dinner ten minutes ago. You can find them in Asian grocery stores or a well-stocked international aisle in the supermarket, but if you don't have access to either of those sources, you can certainly do this with regular old angel hair or any long, thin pasta. (Not sure if they're gluten-free, so this post isn't tagged "gluten-free"--any of you GF folks know?)

Fresh shelling peas are so sweet and delicious that you can eat them raw if you're a veggie enthusiast. Here, they're briefly soaked in boiling water with the mung bean thread, which cooks them just enough without making them mushy.

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, chopped into 1-inch segments
1 cup freshly shelled peas
8 ounces mung bean thread
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup-3/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon tamari
a few drops toasted sesame oil, if you have it

Steam asparagus until just tender and bright green, 5-10 minutes, then run cold water over it to stop it from cooking. Place the peas and mung bean thread in a large bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water while you make the sauce.

To make the sauce, combine peanut butter, 1/2 cup hot water, tamarind, cilantro, cayenne, tamari and optional sesame oil in a small bowl and blend with an immersion blender until creamy. If it's too thick, add more hot water.

Drain the peas and mung bean thread, return to the large bowl and mix with the peanut sauce. Top each portion with asparagus segments.

Avocado, Cilantro and Green Garlic Frittata

Throwing avocado in everything is one of the joys of living in California. So when we had out-of-town guests, we decided to throw it in a frittata. The resulting dish was delicious, quick and memorable, served with a side of stir-fried asparagus.

Everything comes together very quickly, so have all your ingredients prepped before you turn on the heat.

8 eggs
salt
pepper
1 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks green garlic, roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, diced

Beat eggs in a large bowl with salt, pepper and cilantro. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute green garlic for 3-5 minutes, until just starting to brown. Pour in eggs and add avocado chunks, then cook on the stovetop for a few minutes, until the bottom is set, then transfer the skillet to the broiler and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the top is golden. Cut into wedges and serve.