Cold Appetizer Recipe Ideas With Asparagus

!±8± Cold Appetizer Recipe Ideas With Asparagus

Asparagus is great served hot or cold. It cooks quickly and it is great for making easy party appetizers or side dishes. Choose fresh, firm stalks with tight heads for the best results.

To prepare it properly, you need to rinse it and then snap off the woody end. Pare the lower skin off and steam it for four minutes or until it is tender but still has some bite to it. Do not allow it to cook until it is limp. Either drop it in ice water or rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Some Ideas For Asparagus

You can combine half a cup of mayonnaise with the grated zest of one lemon to make a wonderful cold dip for asparagus. Thin it out with some milk or lemon juice and add a little black pepper to taste.

Another great dip can be made by pureeing a drained, seven ounce jar of roasted peppers with a cup of crumbled feta cheese, a clove of garlic and as much olive oil as you need for a nice texture. Leave this dip in the refrigerator for a few hours, so the flavors can develop nicely.

Another great way to serve this vegetable as a cold appetizer recipe is to cut quarter of a pound of thinly sliced prosciutto into halves crosswise and wrap one of these pieces around each chilled spear.

Recipe for Marinated Asparagus

Mince a small onion and sprinkle some salt over it. Stir it and leave for half an hour. Stir in a teaspoon and a half of capers, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and a fresh mint leave and let the mixture marinate for an hour, stirring it well a few times.

Boil a pound of thin asparagus for three minutes or until it is tender but still crisp. Drain it and toss it with the marinade. Add salt and black pepper to taste, toss again, and serve.

How To Make Cheese And Asparagus Tartlets

What You Need:

12 asparagus spears 1 lb puff pastry 4 eggs 1/2 lb mascarpone 4 oz crumbled goat's cheese

How To Make Them:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the pastry out on a floured board and cut it into twelve pieces. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with the pastry pieces, pressing it down into the corners. Cover the tin with foil and press it down into the holes. Fill the holes with baking beans or raw lentils and bake for about fifteen minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffy.

Remove the beans or lentils, foil, and cook the pastry for ten more minutes. Trim the vegetables and cut the tips off the stalks. Boil the stalks for six minutes, and then put them in ice water. Boil the tips for three minutes, and then add them to the ice water. Add the eggs, mascarpone and cooked stalks to a bowl and season with salt and black pepper. Blitz them with a hand blender until frothy.

Push the pastry back into the holes using a spoon, and then fill each one with the mascarpone mixture, dropping a tip of asparagus into each one. Crumble the goat's cheese over the top and bake for another twelve minutes or until the topping is set. Cool the tartlets, then take them out of the tins and serve cold.