Asparagus & Bacon Risoni (Orzo)

 

Spring in Australia is a perfect time for some of the most delicious fruits and vegetables and nothing could be better than fresh asparagus. These delightful spears of goodness are at their best at the moment and in abundance. We’ve been eating quite a bit of it lately thanks to Aussie Asparagus sending us a few bunches. This Asparagus & Bacon Risoni is an excellent way to take advantage of in season asparagus.

 

 

It was ‘one of those nights’ when I didn’t have anything prepped for dinner so I relied on the fresh asparagus to get us through the night. If I can get away with a one pot meal, I will. This Asparagus & Bacon Risoni came together so easily. I started by frying a chopped onion in a little oil.

 

Chop the dry ends off the asparagus and chop the rest of the asparagus spear into bite sized pieces.

 

Fry a little chopped bacon in the same pan.

 

 

Add the fresh asparagus.

 

Add half a cup of risoni (also called orzo in other parts of the world). I love risoni and think it’s very underrated. It has the taste of pasta, is quick to cook and is the size of rice. Add a cup of either vegetable or chicken stock and season well with salt and pepper.

 

Once the risoni has absorbed all the liquid (which should only take a few minutes), add a little cream if you like. I always keep a small box of longlife cream in the pantry for special dishes like this. I also found some baby spinach leaves in the fridge which I threw in as well. The residual heat from the dish will wilt these in no time.

 

 

Top with grated parmesan if you wish. This dish was so full of flavour and ready in no time at all. A great way to feature the beautiful fresh taste of in-season asparagus.

Asparagus & Bacon Risoni (Orzo)

 

 

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, chopped in bite sized pieces
• 3 rashers of bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup risoni (orzo)
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper
• baby spinach leaves (optional)
• 1/2 cup cream (optional)
• grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1. In a pan, fry onions and bacon in a extra virgin olive oil.
2. Add fresh asparagus, stock and risoni (orzo).
3. Cook until risoni has absorbed liquid (approx 10 minutes).
4. Add cream and spinach leaves.
5. Serve with grated parmesan.

 

 

Disclaimer:  I received bunches of fresh asparagus from the Australian Asparagus Council. All photos, thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not paid for this post.

Fresh asparagus soup

I love fresh asparagus and when it was on sale the other day from the supermarket I grabbed a few bunches. I love its colour, its taste and the way it looks. Its just beautiful. You wouldn’t think that it would be soup weather where I am with humidity and storms all week but I wanted to try asparagus soup.

I didn’t want to do too much too it so tossed it in a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and an onion with a little salt and pepper. Once the onion softened, add some chicken or vegetable stock and wait until the asparagus has softened a little (I wanted a bit of crunch still) and then blitz until smooth.

I sprinkled with a little dried dill (fresh would be nice) and a tablespoon of sour cream. It was very refreshing and very tasty.

This one bunch of asparagus made the one bowl of soup. I wasn’t going to bother only eating half and freezing the rest. It was too nice to save for another day. (Recipe courtesy of www.taste.com.au.)

Fresh Asparagus with {Vegan} Hollandaise

Although not a vegetarian, I love vegetarian food and use vegetables, grains and pulses a lot in my cooking for flavour, nutrition and, mostly, cost. (I did this recipe for a guest post a little while ago but thought I’d share it here as I made this vegan hollandaise sauce just recently and it reminded me how really easy and tasty it was.)

I only buy seasonal produce and use what I have on hand. The asparagus looked beautiful when I did my fruit and vegetable shopping the other day and what goes perfect with asparagus? Hollandaise sauce. I did a bit of a browse online for vegan versions (not that I’m a vegan) and I found this one which uses soy milk and vegan margarine. This suited me perfectly as my sister had a huge cleanout of her pantry and gave me a couple cans of evaporated soy milk. I wondered what I could use them for.

The recipe is super easy and all done in a saucepan. (I was a little heavy handed with the turmeric so it’s a little too ‘yellow’.) It would be perfect served over any vegetables or a poached egg on spinach for breakfast. I think I might use this version all the time as I’m not a big fan of eggs anyway.

Fresh Asparagus with {Vegan} Hollandaise
(based on recipe at Vegan Tasmania)

• ¾ soy milk or other non-dairy milk
• pinch of paprika (or cayenne pepper for a kick)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 2 tbsp vegan margarine (or olive oil, which I used)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Heat ½ cup of the soy milk in a saucepan until hot but not bubbling. Add paprika or cayenne.
2. With the remaining milk, in the measuring jug or a bowl, whisk in corn flour until combined. (If it all clumps together, don’t worry. It will right itself once mixed). Add in the margarine or olive oil and whisk again.
3. Pour the corn flour/milk mixture into the saucepan and over a medium heat, whisk until the sauce thickens and becomes the texture of hollandaise.
4. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste, keep adding until it’s to your liking. Mix well.