{"id":6813,"date":"2013-05-19T17:37:51","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T00:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=6813"},"modified":"2015-04-11T21:38:38","modified_gmt":"2015-04-11T21:38:38","slug":"dressing-up-asparagus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/dressing-up-asparagus\/","title":{"rendered":"Dressing up asparagus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When the first local asparagus of the season arrives in the market, I’m so eager for the fresh taste of spring that I prepare them as simply as possible.\u00a0 A few minutes on the grill or steamer, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a little salt and pepper are all that’s required for a feast.<\/p>\n

By now, though, I’m ready to experiment.\u00a0 This year my focus is asparagus and eggs, a traditional French combination.<\/p>\n

The classic poached egg over asparagus wouldn’t work, since I can’t bear even the sight of runny yolks.\u00a0 (There go my foodie credentials!)\u00a0 So I decided to substitute softly scrambled eggs as a suitably delicate complement to the grassy spears.<\/p>\n

The inspiration for this dish is a flan in Jacques P\u00c3\u00a9pin’s capstone cookbook, “Essential P\u00c3\u00a9pin” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011).\u00a0 If your idea of a flan is a sweet Spanish custard, you’re in for a surprise.\u00a0 This version is more like an easy Gallic version of fritatta.<\/p>\n

This one pan dish is perfect for a spring brunch but works just as well for dinner with a green salad and some crusty bread on the side.<\/p>\n

The eggs are cooked on top of the stove just until they begin to set. Then the skillet is shoved into the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking and brown.\u00a0 Fresh parsley, basil and garlic pump up the spring flavors.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The chopped hazelnuts sprinkled over the top before baking are my way of trying to capture the nutty character the French achieve with browned butter.\u00a0 The concept may sound a bit odd but the combination of soft eggs, barely tender asparagus and crunchy nuts is as delightful as it is unexpected.<\/p>\n

Asparagus doesn’t get much better.<\/p>\n

ASPARAGUS FLAN
\nServes 6-8<\/em>8-9 medium stalks of asparagus, tough bottom portion removed
\n2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil,
\n1\/4 cup parsley, chopped
\n1\/4 cup basil, chopped
\n3 cloves garlic, minced
\n6 eggs
\n1\/2 cup half and half cream
\nSalt and freshly ground pepper to taste
\n1\/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
\n3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped<\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.<\/p>\n

Bring about 1\/2 inch of water to a boil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet.\u00a0 Lay asparagus stalks in a single layer in the skillet and blanch for about 3 minutes.\u00a0 Drain the asparagus in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop them cooking.\u00a0 Set asparagus aside and wipe out the skillet.<\/p>\n

In the same pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat.\u00a0 Add parsley, basil and garlic and saute a few minutes. until garlic is softened but not browned.\u00a0 Meanwhile, beat the eggs with cream, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.\u00a0 Add the beaten eggs to the sauteed herbs and cook, stirring, for about a minute, just until the eggs set and soft curds begin to form.<\/p>\n

Remove skillet from the heat and arrange asparagus atop the egg mixture.\u00a0 Sprinkle with Parmesan and hazelnuts.<\/p>\n

Place pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the eggs have set completely and the top is lightly browned.<\/p>\n

Serve flan warm or at room temperature.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the first local asparagus of the season arrives in the market, I’m so eager for the fresh taste of spring that I prepare them as simply as possible.\u00a0 A few minutes on the grill or steamer, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a little salt and pepper are all that’s required for a … Continue reading Dressing up asparagus<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6813"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7293,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6813\/revisions\/7293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}