When not slaving away with only Twitter and mad dog for company, I occasionally have a 'life.' This usually entails cooking for friends, trying far too many wines, and the occasional entire day out. I will post my ramblings, recipes and recommendations here on the 'Gourmet on the Go' blog. Hope you find something of interest!
It’s Asparagus Season – the start of which is officially marked by St George’s Day on 23rd April and ends on Midsummer’s day June 24th. Well that’s the official take; the weather of course will have its own way. Generally, we have around 8 weeks to enjoy the asparagus season. Freshly grown sweet tender spears, preferably picked that morning – if you can get it! Your local farm shop will be your best bet.
When I think of asparagus I think of pancetta wrapped around it and a poached or boiled egg to dunk my green and meaty soldiers in. Although asparagus can be pricey, so I took the same ingredients and went down the risotto route – a main meal, where your asparagus is the still the star of the show.
It’s always worth making your own stock for a risotto – the base flavour of your dish will depend on it. I put some chopped carrots, spring onion, celery, a couple of bay leaves and the snapped off bases of the asparagus in the pressure cooker with 1.5ltrs of water – 1 hour on high pressure, job done. Keeps well in the fridge for around five days or put in ice trays and keep for a rainy day.
Asparagus, Pancetta & Egg Yolk Risotto
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Recipe type: Main
Author: Sarah Fay
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 ltr vegetable or chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 bunch of asparagus, bases snapped off
1 onion , finely chopped
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
200g pancetta or streaky bacon, cut into lardons/chopped
300g Arborio or Carnaroli ‘risotto’ rice
1 medium glass of dry white wine (about 175ml)
A good handful (around 50g) grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
4 egg yolks
Boiling water.
Method:
Bring your stock up to heat in a pan. Add your asparagus spears and poach for two to four minutes depending on how thick they are. Drain and then plunge your asparagus into cold water. Keep stock on a low simmer.
Heat the olive oil and butter in another pan and then add your onions and garlic – sweat over the lowest heat, for around five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.
Turn the heat up to medium and add your pancetta or bacon. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the fat starts to render down.
Stir in your rice and coat well with the bacon/onion mixture. Pour in your wine, give everything a vigorous stir and then let the wine reduce.
Add a ladle or two of your stock to the pan, stir well and then let reduce. Continue this process for around 20 minutes – add stock, stir vigorously, allow to reduce – until the rice is cooked and the all stock used.
Stir in your asparagus, a generous pinch of salt and pepper and roughly three quarters of the parmesan cheese. Turn off the heat, and cover.
Pour boiling into a pan (I just used the stock pan), boil rapidly and then add your egg yolks. Poach for just a few seconds until the yolk colour changes and is sealed. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Dish up your risotto, add the egg yolk, sprinkle over the remaining parmesan – eat.
Due to the unseasonably warm weather, the British Asparagus season has started early! To celebrate this short season, buy the best of local asparagus from some of our listed farm shops in Essex. You cannot beat the fresh from the field flavour.
The following recipe is a great sharing dish or tapas/starter dish for four. You can either create separately in small ovenproof dishes, or in one big dish to place centre table and just dig in.
The piquant, sweet and fruity piquillo peppers work wonderfully with the spicy paprika punch of the meaty chorizo, rich duck eggs and tender full flavoured asparagus – a fabulous contrast of flavours and textures. This dish is a real treat and very simple to make…
Baked duck egg with chorizo, piquillo peppers and asparagus recipe
Serves 4 as a starter or lunch/supper dish.
Ingredients
8 large English asparagus spears, trimmed and ends peeled
extra virgin olive oil
4 piquillo peppers from a jar, drained and finely sliced
150g chorizo skinned and finely diced
4 duck eggs
Sea Salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 160?C/gas 3. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the asparagus spears for 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and refresh in cold water to stop the cooking process.
To assemble, grease a large ovenproof dish with some extra virgin olive oil. Add the piquillo peppers, asparagus and chorizo, arranging the ingredients evenly. Crack the duck eggs on top of the mix, keeping some space in-between each. Season well with salt and pepper, and then bake for 15–18 minutes or until the chorizo is cooked, the egg whites are set and the yolk is hot but still runny. (Alternatively you could divide and cook ingredients in four separate small dishes.)
Today is a day to herald and celebrate much that is British. It is of course Saint Georges day, where as a nation we celebrate our patron saints slaying of a mythical dragon, even though it is doubtful St George ever laid foot on our green and pleasant land. William Shakespeare was also born on this day in 1564. The ‘Bard of Avon’ is of course one of the greatest and most acclaimed English writers.
Still, all of that aside, if you want cause for real celebration, welcome in the new season asparagus! The British asparagus season is short, only around 8 weeks. Being as our Asparagus is considered by many to be the very best in the world, it is time to savour the wonderful flavour and buy your asparagus now.
Asparagus is best eaten freshly picked. As asparagus ages from field to shop, the natural sugars turn to starch, negatively affecting both the flavour and texture. So, buying from a local farm shop is your best bet to assure you of prime, fresh and delicious asparagus.
Asparagus can be cooked in a multitude of ways; blanched and griddled, steamed, boiled or roasted. These wonderful, tender spears are excellent just eaten on their own with melted butter, hollandaise sauce, aioli, or a tasty vinaigrette, or cut them up and add to stir fries, pasta dishes, tarts, quiches, risottos, and the list goes on.
Here are some local farm shops that will be stocking the best of local asparagus this weekend and the coming weeks. I have also included a few recipes to whet your appetite.
Essex Asparagus – Where to buy the best
Blackwells Farm Shop, Coggeshall – will be stocking Asaparagus from this weekend, sourced from local farms and growers in the area.
Calcott Hall Farm Shop, Brentwood – will be harvesting their own Asparagus crop which will be available in their farm shop this weekend.
Lathcoats Farm Shop, Galleywood – have started to harvest their own Asparagus, now available in their farm shop.
Sarah Green’s Organics Farm Shop, Tillingham – will harvest their own organic Asparagus available in their farm shop as of today.
Due to the unseasonably warm weather, the British Asparagus season has started early! To celebrate this short season, buy the best of local asparagus from some of our listed 
Today is a day to herald and celebrate much that is British. It is of course Saint Georges day, where as a nation we celebrate our patron saints slaying of a mythical dragon, even though it is doubtful St George ever laid foot on our green and pleasant land. William Shakespeare was also born on this day in 1564. The ‘Bard of Avon’ is of course one of the greatest and most acclaimed English writers. 
Eating Out In Essex