jkath said:
I have some beautiful pencil-thin asparagus I got at the farmer's market and I have some ground beef. What can I make for dinner tomorrow night using those two items?
Only 2 limitations: no cheese, no egg as a main part, such as an omelette.
What can you think up?
PS - (please, not the bowtie pasta/asparagus/gr bf toss - thx!)
JKath this would've been so much easier if you had steak instead of ground beef!
I'm not even sure how this would come out but here goes. I'll scale this impromptu recipe for 4-6 servings
Morrocan Spiced Polpette (Meatballs) with a Truffled Shaved Asparagus and Fried Brunoise Potato Salad
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 Large Egg, beaten
1/2 c. Unseasoned Breadcrumbs
1/4 c. Fresh Grana Padano, Pecorino, or Parmesan Cheese
3-4 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp. Fresh Ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. Lemon Zest, minced
1 tsp. Allspice
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper
3 tsp. Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano, minced
2 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley, minced
Olive Oil for frying
Method:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for the olive oil and knead together until they are all incorporated. Roll out into balls of desired size, and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides. Transfer the meatballs to baking sheet pans and finish in the oven.
Okay now for the salad.
2 lb. Asparagus, blanched
2 lb. Potato, cut into bruniose (1/4 to 1/2" dice; keep the sizes even)
2 c. Mizuna, Arugula, or similar peppery salad green
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
3-4 Tbsp. White Truffle Oil
Fresh Grana Padano, Pecorino, or Parmesan cheese to finish
Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil for frying
Method:
Prepare a pot of slightly salted boiling water and a large bowl of iced water. Remove the tough part of the asparagus stems, and quickly blanch the asparagus (about 30 seconds; don't add too much at a time or else the water temp. will drop too fast) and immediately shock in the iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain, dry, and reserve. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil until lightly smoking. Add the potatoes and saute until browned and tender. Remove the potatoes from the pan and drain on paper towels to blot the oil. In a large mixing bowl, use a vegetable peeler and shave the aspragus into thin ribbons (or just cut them into 1/2" pieces if you don't want to do this step). Add the potatoes, green, lemon juice, vinegar, and truffle oil and toss until everything is coated. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper and toss again. Using a vegetable peeler, shave of pieces of the cheese over the salad to finish.