Wednesday, May 23, 2007

More asparagus, this time with pinenuts, lime and browned butter

Those fresh asparagus from Uus-Kongo farm at the Central Market have become popular. For example, there was none left when we made it to the market on Saturday morning. Granted, we got there shortly after noon (well, not exactly a morning, I know), and considering the market opens at 7am, the chances we'd find anything so special and delicious were small anyway. Same with fresh morels and new season's beetroot. None left.. But at least I managed to put an asparagus order in for Tuesday (Monday's crop was already counted for). Yesterday morning I got almost a kilogram of beautiful, fresh asparagus, so last night we had another asparagus meal. The dish is inspired by this Arla recipe, but ended up being something rather different, as I remembered the ingredients and the process wrong (used pinenuts instead of sunflower seeds, and blanched the asparagus instead of frying), which I realised only afterwards. I liked my unintentional creation, however, and would happily make it again..

Asparagus with pinenuts, lime and browned butter
(Sparglid laimi ja seedermänniseemnetega)
Serves 2


Lovely, perk asparagus spears :)

300 grams young fresh green asparagus
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp butter
half a lime
sea salt

Toast the pinenuts on a hot non-stick pan, until they're all nutty-smelling and slightly golden. Take care not to burn! Put aside.
Melt the butter on a small frying pan on a moderate heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has browned slightly.
Snap off the hardened lower bits of the asparagus. Place in a pot of salted boiling water and simmer for approximately two minutes (test for doneness with a small knife). Drain thoroughly and place on a plate.
Squeeze the lime juice over asparagus, pour over the melted butter and scatter toasted pine nuts on top.
Serve.

Other asparagus recipes @ Nami-nami:
Roasted green asparagus with feta cheese (May 2007)
Roasted green asparagus with Parmesan cheese (May 2006)
Wild asparagus with butter / Wild asparagus with pasta & garlic (May 2006)

17 comments:

Parisbreakfasts said...

These look soooo delicious and Springy!
I must get some & try this :)

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I often have limes on hand after I've run out of lemons, and this looks like a lovely way to use them, especially now that asparagus are in season!

K and S said...

mmm, that looks delicious!

Anne said...

Yum! Yours look way better than the Arla version! :)

Mia said...

We had asparagus for dinner today, and with browned butter, too! (Stir fried and seasoned with parmesan & spring onions... yum.)

This looks wonderful as well, I love pine nuts.

Kalyn Denny said...

I think it sounds fantastic. I'm quite intrigued by the thought of lime with asparagus.

Chris said...

yum! I love the "can do" aspect of this recipe. Simple and delicious! The lime/asparagus combo is interesting. Like Kalyn, I am intriqued. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm sure this is so delicious! Mmmm...another thing to make with brown butter :) I can't get over how gorgeous your asparagus are!

Jeanne said...

Oh that sounds fabulous - and easy! I am gorging on asparagus while I can - they are just the best. Must add this recipe to my "to do" list.

Alanna Kellogg said...

Great photo - oh, and the asparagus, too! :-) Love the simplicity of this ...

thepassionatecook said...

what a coincidence, i juat posted an asparagus recipe as well... mind was a salad, also involving lime. I added some pumpkin seeds to my white asparagus the other night as well, but pine nuts? sounds like a great idea. so wonderfully sweet, I am sure they work a treat!

Freya said...

A delicious, simple way to serve asparagus!

Katie Zeller said...

I love your asparagus recipes.
Unfortunately our season is ending - maybe this week I can still find some, maybe not. So sad!
Lime sounds very interesting - I don't use it enough (except for the G & T's)

neil said...

How far away is Spring for me *taps foot impatiently*? Great photo, you captured their perkiness perfectly!

Valentina said...

Pille, how delicous! I love the nuts adding a crunchy element! the other day i had a vinagraite type sauce with brown butter and fell in love with the outcome. I will definitely give your recipe a try.I love the idea of going to the market. Tell us more about future trips.

christine said...

It's like they're saluting you. :) They look so tasty and I love that you used pine nuts.

Pille said...

Paris Breakfasts - I'm still getting used to the idea that local and seasonal asparagus is available in Estonia, but I guess it'll be one of the signs of early summer from now on:)

Lydia - hope you'll like this combination!

K&S - thank you!

Anne - I think so, too:)

Deinin - I saw your asparagus dish - looked great!

Kalyn - I must admit I wouldn't have come up with it myself, but it worked.

Chris - it was a good pairing!

Joey - they're pretty nice, aren't they?

Jeanne - you must hurry up, as you're coming to the end of the season now, no?

Alanna - we had a photo shoot contest at home that night, and my photo won this time. Usually it's the other way around:)

Johanna - I should try the pumpkin nut version.

Freya & Paul - yep, simple & delicious.

Katiez - hope you had plenty of asparagus while the season lasted in your part of the world. I've never had a G&T, so no limes needed for that in my house (hence no limes ever hanging around just in case). I actually have to buy them for any cooking!!

Neil - I like the picture, too (and I took this particular one, not K:)

Valentina - I'll keep you posted about the market:)

Christine - they do, don't they:) Thanks for popping by and commenting!