-
Ways with asparagus
Asparagus season started here in early April and is set to continue until the end of May. White asparagus is more common in France and I buy ours direct from the farm up the road. They’re so fresh and tender that I don’t even need to cut the ends off.
Asparagus can be roasted with olive oil and rock salt for about 15/20 minutes, steamed, cooked in simmering water (15 minutes) or even microwaved (although I wouldn’t personally recommend this and I hate microwaves and ours ‘mysteriously’ died an undignified death at the rubbish dump).
One of the classic ways to eat asparagus is with a Hollandaise sauce (very topical at the moment!), which is quite tricky to make but very rewarding if you succeed (good luck!)
Asparagus can be grilled with parma ham (or probably Bayonne ham if you live here!) and parmesan, which is a delicious combination. A great favourite in this area is asparagus omelette, which is a mouth-watering combination of corn-fed chicken eggs, butter and tender aspargus tips. Be sure not to overcook the omelette – the inside should still be slightly runny.
Another traditional way to serve them here is ‘au gratin’. Make a well-seasoned béchamel sauce and then fold in the asparagus and if you like, some ham. Cover the top with grated cheese and a dot of butter. Bake in a hot oven (200°C) until the top is crispy and golden. -
Creamy curried pork with apples
My plan had been to cook these pork chops on the open fire, but since I had let the fire go out (there are limits to my multi-tasking talents) and it’s hard to justify rekindling a fire when it’s over 20°C outside, I decided to cut the meat into strips and cook them on the hob.
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 pork chops
1 apple
2 shallots
3 mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons’ calvados
olive oil
thumb size piece of fresh grated ginger
1 cinnamon stick
salt, pepper, tumeric, curry powder
cashew nuts
100ml pouring cream
Chop the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and apples and fry until golden brown in olive oil. Add the stips of pork and then the grated ginger, cinnamon stick and cashew nuts. Season to taste (I tend to like things hot and spicy). Keep frying until the pork is cooked (roughly five minutes) and then add the calvados and cream. Cook for a further two or three minutes until the cream is bubbling and slightly thickened.
Serve with rice or shredded cabbage. -
Toulouse sausages and Tarbes beans
I prepared this today for lunch as our son had a friend to stay and ‘bangers, mash and beans’ is always a great favourite with little boys. The advantage of Toulouse sausages is that they are so substantial and meaty that chewing time is longer than less ‘manly’ sausages. Increased chewing time = longer (blissful) silence at the table! What’s not to like?
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 Toulouse sausages
olive oil
can of peeled tomatos
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
sprig of rosemary
5 medium-sized mushrooms
250g of Tarbes beans (precooked)
Lee and Perrins sauce
Seasoning (sea salt, pepper, cayenne pepper)
Chop the onions, garlic and slice the mushrooms and add to the olive oil in a casserole dish. Sear the sausages for a few minutes on either side on a griddle if you have one, if not in a frying pan and then add to the casserole dish. Once everything is golden brown, add the tomatoes, beans and the rosemary. Season to taste (salt, pepper, cayenne and Lee and Perrins). Cook for about an hour and a half in a medium oven (150°C), until the tomatoes begin to caramelise.
