Food Without Farming
(Page 2 of 6)
July/August 1972
By James E. Churchill
ASPARAGUS SOUFFLE: Cook and dice three cups of fresh, tender asparagus spears. Add three tablespoons of melted butter to three tablespoons of flour and one cup of milk. Separate four eggs and beat the yolks until they're thick and lemon-colored. Add the cooked asparagus to the yolks and then add both to the butter and flour sauce. Beat the egg whites until they're very stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour the whole thing into a greased casserole dish, set it in a pan of hot water and then bake in a 325° oven for about 45 minutes.
RELATED CONTENT
CRUMBED ASPARAGUS: Tie stalks into bundles of four each and place them butt-down in just enough boiling water to cover the thick part of the stem. Cook them for about ten minutes, then remove and drain. Beat one egg with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and put it aside. Spread out one cup of bread crumbs on a sheet of wax paper and roll the spears in them. Next, roll the asparagus bundles in the egg mixture and then roll them in the bread crumbs again. When the stalks are well-coated fry them in butter or margarine slowly until they're browned.
CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP: Wash very well the stalks and tips from about one dozen asparagus plants. Cut off the tips and simmer them in milk (water will do) until they're tender and set them aside. Cut the rest of the spears into small pieces and place them in a saucepan. Add to the stalks six cups of stock made by simmering lean beef in water or by placing a bouillon cube in the water. Further add 1/4 cup of chopped celery and 1/4 cup of chopped onions. Simmer these ingredients for one-half hour and rub them all through a sieve. Then melt three tablespoons of butter and stir in three tablespoons of whole grain wheat flour. Heat the butter sauce very well and then add it along with the tips to the stock. Season and serve hot.
ASPARAGUS WITH HOT YOGURT: Cook four cups of asparagus by the same method used for crumbed asparagus. Remove the bundled stalks from the fire and pour one cup of plain, heated yogurt over them. Season with chopped onions or other seasoning and serve hot.
Asparagus, of course, can and should be frozen for winter use. This is done by first picking and then washing the plants very well. Place the stalks in boiling water for about four minutes and then remove and place them in ice water for three to five minutes. Freeze them in meal-sized containers. As most folks who have a freezer know, if this blanching and cooling is done just right the taste of the asparagus will be almost indistinguishable from freshly picked plants. You'll be able to tell it from the fresh asparagus you buy at the supermarket though . . . yours will be much better.
If you don't have a freezer, then canning is probably the best method of preserving asparagus. Wash the picked spears very well and remove all loose scales and tough parts. Place the vegetable in a wire basket or suspend it in a bag made of a square of cheesecloth and hold it in boiling water for three minutes. Then, pack the tender shoots in sterilized fruit jars, filling around them with boiling water and one teaspoon of salt. Steam the stalks for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker set at ten pounds or for 2-1/4 hours in a boiling water bath.
Page:
<< Previous 1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Next >>
