White asparagus with tamarind sauce

I had cooked this dish some time ago. The fresh market stalls had the seasonal white asparagus and I could not resist buying this tender mild freshness. Not going with the classics, I decided to play with a sweet and sour sauce. I love the earthy tangy flavor of fresh tamarind. And to balance it, I decided to use the sweetness of date molasses. The sweet-sour creamy buttery sauce and the freshness and mild flavor of the tender asparagus matched each other in the perfect harmony.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

300g white asparagus

2 pods of dried tamarind

1tbsp date molasses

3tbsp butter

1sp chili flakes

Salt

METHOD:

1.       Soak the tamarind pods without the hard outer skin in ½ cup water overnight.

2.       Trim the ends of the white asparagus. Peel off the thin skin.

3.       Bring salted water to boil. Add the asparagus.

4.       Cook the asparagus in simmering water until tender (15-30 minutes depending on their thickness).

5.       Drain them on kitchen towel.

6.       Meanwhile, remove the seeds and strings to make a smooth tamarind pulp.

7.       Mix the molasses with the tamarind pulp until it dissolves.

8.       Add tamarind pulp and butter in a pan. Let the butter melt and bring the sauce to simmer. Add chili flakes.

9.       Serve the warm asparagus with the tamarind sauce.

Tea crusted salmon with asparagus

While watching some cookery show other day, I saw a tea crusted fish recipe. And being a lover of fish, I of course had to try it at the soonest possible opportunity. The show I was watching served tea crusted flatheads with consommé. I thought my dish a bit differently. I love salmon, and good quality salmon is easily available in the fresh market. I decided to crust it with Indian green tea on both sides. Then I pan-fried it in olive oil. In the market there were selling lovely tender asparagus, and I had bought some. The succulent asparagus boiled in tea teamed up great with the salmon. The crispy salmon crust broke into its soft juicy orange flesh on a bed of tender asparagus. It was a well-balanced play of subtle flavors and textures. I simply couldn’t have enough of it. One very simple, elegant and delicate dish it was.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 2 )

2 pieces of salmon (with skin)
6-8 tea bags (~15g tea)
20 asparagus shoots
Salt
Butter
Olive oil

METHOD:

1. Crust both sides of the salmon pieces evenly with powdered tea.
2. In a pot, start boiling water and drop a tea bag.
3. Cut away the hard bottom part of the asparagus shoots.
4. Boil them in tea water for around 5 minutes until tender yet firm.
5. Drain and sprinkle with salt and add a dullop of butter.
6. Heat olive oil in a pan.
7. When oil is hot, put in the salmon pieces skin side down and fry on medium heat.
8. Turn over, and fry until it is cooked through.
9. Drain oil and serve on a bed of asparagus.

NOTE:
The oil should be hot enough for frying fish.
To cut of the hard bottom of asparagus and not have much waste, try to break it towards the end. The natural breaking point is the point beyond which the shoot is hard.