Asparagus Soup with North Sea Crabs

Asparagus season is officially open! From April and till end of June is exactly the right time to buy seasonal asparagus here in the north of Germany. And although in Hamburg you will mostly find white or violet asparagus from the region (not the typical green sprouts) it is definitely worth to stop by at the local farmers' market and buy this fresh seasonal product. If you do not know what can you prepare and how is asparagus eaten the very basic recipe of asparagus you can discover here. And this Baked asparagus with ham and cheese with its tenderness of melted cheese and asparagus juiciness will definitely be a pleasant surprise for you.

But today I want to share the recipe that became one of the most favourite soups in my family: asparagus soup with north sea crabs. It is easy to cook, healthy, very tasty and full of flavors. The recipe is adopted from "1000 Recipes for two" by NGV. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do during the season.

One secret for good soup is a good base, meaning broth. Depending on your preferences it may be made with meat and vegetables or just veggies. In my case, I always leave the broth from the meat I was boiling. A good choice would also be to use the rests of asparagus once peeled to cook a broth. Just add some salt and boil them for 10 minutes. That's it!

Ingredients:

yields 2 portions

500 ml chicken broth

200 g asparagus (your choice)

100 g north sea crabs or shrimps (cooked, ready to use)

2 shallots

1/2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp corn flour

1 small egg

sprinkle of salt,Herbes de Provence and pepper

Bring the broth to boil. Meanwhile wash asparagus and cut it into 3-4 cm long pieces. Put then into the boiling water and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Take asparagus out and set aside. Peel shallot and cut it small. In a pan heat the oil and fry shortly shallot and asparagus for about 2 minutes. Add some salt, pepper and broth. Pour it all into the main broth. Separately mix corn flour with some water into a paste, add it to the soup and stir well. Taste and if needed add more salt, pepper or other spices you like. Beat the egg and pour it gradually into the soup while stirring it with a fork quickly so that the egg threads are created.

Serve it with north sea crabs and a sprinkle of herbs de Provence.

Bon Appétit!

Baked asparagus with ham and cheese

 Once asparagus season started, you are surrounded by this magic vegetable... New recipe ideas, unknown taste combinations, same old asparagus. Today is a special day, when I want to share a special recipe with you. Why is it that special? Because it opens new side of simple product and is very easy and quick to make. Even for those, who are afraid of cooking ;)

I made the recipe number of times and my husband was surprised with new taste combination. So we tried white asparagus. Then green asparagus... Again white :) By the way, today for dinner we finished a portion of baked white asparagus with jalapeno chicken ham. D-E-L-I-S-I-O-U-S !

Ingredients:

500 g of asparagus (your choice - white, green, violet)

80 g mozarella cheese

20 g parmesan reggiano

100 g chicken ham

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/3 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry basil

1 tbs butter

Wash asparagus well and peel leaving only upper 3 cm untouched. For green type of this magic vegetable follow a different rule - peel only lower part: about 3-4 cm. Cut mozarella into little pieces (no matter which form, main thing - it will melt in the oven). Wrap each stick into one slice of ham (I prefer chicken ham, the higher mean percentage - the better), putting piece of cheese in between.

Preheat the oven up to 160°C. Place wrapped sticks onto the oven-tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried basil. Put a tiny piese of butter on each stick to add creamy texture. Bake for about 25 minutes. Before serving grate some parmesan on top to add some extra taste.

Here you go: dish of the season:)

Easy, quick and healthy.
Because good food is always a good idea.

Asparagus: basic recipe

Spring is Asparagus season. That is a tradition in Germany.
April-May is a period of the year, when in every restaurant of Hamburg you will definitely find dishes with asparagus. Supermarkets offer different types of this beautiful spring vegetable: green, white, violet. Imported or German one :) Therefore asparagus is very popular in Germany, as it is grown here. Around Hamburg it is easy to find little farms with family business - Cultivating of asparagus. And real gourmets know that vegetables from region have the highest nutritional value.
So let us also start our own asparagus season with a simple, yet very tasty basic recipe.

Ingredients (2 portions):

2 eggs
8 cherry tomatoes
6 potatoes
300 g asparagus

For Hollandaise sauce:

3 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp butter (unsalted)

First thing we have to start with when cooking asparagus is peeling. Lower part of this cute stick is a bit woody and therefore we peel it a bit and cut about 1-2 cm of the bottom end. Peel potatoes as well. *No special tricks here :)
Boil a big (preferably high) pot with salty water and cook asparagus for about 2-3  minutes. Meanwhile prepare ice cold water. Directly from boiling water put asparagus into cold water. This little trick will ensure crunchy fresh taste. In the same water boil potatoes until you can easily stick a fork inside. Fry eggs on medium-low heat.

Last, but not least - the sauce.
Sauce Hollandaise during this time of the season you can, of course, find in every shop here. But if you want your food to be home-made and cooked with love here is one easy recipe of this magic suitable for asparagus sauce.

Melt butter. Blend egg yolks with salt and lemon juice using low speed in your blender. The yolks have to lighten in color before you add melted butter and blend again at low speed until the sauce is well mixed.

Serve asparagus with tomatoes and fried egg, sauce and potatoes.

And enjoy the season.