Saturday, May 30, 2015

Saturday Recipe

I was just sitting around on Thursday night and it occurred to me that my blog name includes the word chocolate, right? So then I wondered about asparagus and chocolate. This is what I found. There is actually a video of this on YouTube if you want to see exactly how they make it. The presentation in the video is somewhat different though. Of course you don't have to use English asparagus, that grown on a Canadian farm or an American farm is equally as good.


White chocolate and English asparagus tarts

Reynolds Greengrocer (England)

Ingredients (serves 12)

White chocolateSweet pastry cases
  • 1 ½ eggs, beaten and chilled
  • 500g plain flour
  • 50g glucose syrup
  • 250g unsalted butter, diced and well chilled
  • 200g icing sugar
White chocolate and asparagus filling
  • 250ml double cream
  • 350g English asparagus, finely sliced (n.b. you can use stalks and is a good way of using up trimmings)
  • 420g white chocolate
  • Mascarpone to finish

Method

Sweet pastry cases
  1. Sieve flour and icing sugar into food processor bowl, then add glucose and butter. Blitz until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs then gradually add beaten egg until mix comes together.
  2. Remove from bowl, wrap and chill for at least two hours before rolling.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°c. Roll the pastry out onto a floured work surface to approximately 3mm thick, then use a 90-100mm cutter to cut out the discs for the individual tart rings (80mm diameter, depth of 10mm). Press the pastry into the pre-greased tart rings then chill for 30 minutes before cooking.
  4. Blind bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the tart to cool before filling.
  5. Alternatively you could line one 25cm flan ring and make one large tart.
White chocolate and English asparagus filling
  1. Place the cream and the sliced asparagus into a heavy based pan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a pan over some simmering water, ensuring the water is not in contact with the bowl.
  3. When the cream has reached boiling point and the asparagus has softened, pass the cream through a fine sieve and squeeze out any leftover moisture using a ladle.
  4. Combine the melted white chocolate and the asparagus cream and mix well before pouring into the pastry cases. Chill for two hours before serving.
  5. Finish with a quenelle of mascarpone and a chocolate shaving.

Have a great weekend
 

14 comments:

  1. Hmm....that's a combo I never would've thought of, asparagus with chocolate. Are you going to try this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nor me JoJo. I'd like to, but it's quite a lot of work and I'm not sure I'm up to it. We'll see.

      Delete
  2. It does seem like a lot of work. I'm not much for white chocolate. This would be something I would want to try one of in a store or a restaurant.

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too I think Betty. But it is unusual.

      Delete
  3. We've been working out in the garden - the Council green waste collection is due - and discovered the asparagus is still in full leaf although it's officially winter as of tomorrow. Doesn't bode well for the next crop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was supposed to be like that. I had ferns on my asparagus (in the UK) for a long while after I stopped picking it. Mind you I used to use some of those ferns for background in flower designs. But as I understand it, you are supposed to have male (red berries) and female plants which cross pollinate during this period of time.

      Delete
    2. It does have ferny leaves for a long time but they've usually died back by the beginning of winter, Interesting about the male and female plants. I've never bothered to look for flowers. I just grow it from crowns. It's not a big patch anyway, certainly not big enough to cover my love of asparagus.

      Delete
    3. I don't remember flowers either. I just remember the red berries on the ferns, it is, after all, some 45 years ago. If you don't have enough, you had better plant more crowns LOL.

      Delete
  4. I never would have thought to put those together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised I found such a recipe Ivy.

      Delete
  5. No matter how much I love chocolate I will not eat asparagus:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. I love both of course Birgit, but I am not sure about together. I would like to try some, but not to make a whole batch in case it isn't good.

      Delete
  6. Hi Jo - before I go off for my blogging quarterbatical or whatever three months or so off is! I had to comment .. .

    How ghastly that sounds ... asparagus all the time, now - we have oodles of the stuff - a good year apparently ... I have to admit I do like white chocolate ... but not like this!

    Cheers and enjoy the summer ... the fish is good too - Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL Hilary. I don't think it sounds ghastly. Matt agrees with you though. I would love to try it. What about that guy up north - in the UK - forgotten his name, with all the experimental foods he does. Bacon ice cream is the least of it.

      Enjoy your summer off and eat lots of fish. Being 1,000 miles from the ocean, the fish is not so good here.

      Delete