Double posting - British Asparagus

It's not often I post twice in one day, but I felt bad for neglecting my blog for the past week or so, and also I had a bit of a cooking spree today. I had this urge to cook - you've seen the baking results, and here is what materialised for dinner. We had some British Asparagus sitting waiting to be used, and I was craving a risotto. Dad always used to make either a risotto or a curry whenever we had a roast chicken. When I was younger, I certainly preferred risotto, and when I got the chance to make it for the first time a few years ago, I jumped at the chance. My first risotto was a Broad Bean and Lemon Zest, and it was pretty good, for a first attempt. Now, it's been a while since I roasted a whole chicken (I think it must have been the epic Christmas dinner I cooked in our small kitchen...) so this risotto uses ham, but would be lovely without, I'm sure.

Now I'm craving a curry. B will be revising hard at his house over the next few days, so I spy another curry making opportunity in the next few days!
                                   

Asparagus and Ham Risotto
Makes 2 large portions

Ingredients:
200g risotto rice
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
Bunch of asparagus
1 courgette
1 onion
1 clove garlic
100g ham, chopped
4tbsp grated parmesan, plus extra to sprinkle on top
Seasoning

1. Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the asparagus and put into cold water. Chop the tips from the asparagus and set aside. Chop the stalks into small pieces.
2. Finely chop the onion, courgette and garlic.
3. Heat oil/frylight in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic, courgette and asparagus pieces. Fry off for around 10 minutes
4. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice is coated with the oil.
5. Add the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring frequently. Once all the stock is absorbed by the rice, add the next ladle until all the stock has been used. The rice should now be al dente - soft, but with bite.
6. Add the asparagus tips and ham. Stir through and heat for a few minutes. Stir through the 4tbsp parmesan. Season to taste.
7. Serve, topped with more parmesan.

                                            
        

 
                                   
 

Salad for Summer

It's been a hot few days here in York - the sun has been blazing down, the birds have been singing, there are hardly any clouds.

And it's really really really hot.

I do like the summer, really I do. I just don't particularly like wearing summer clothes. That's a lie, actually. I do enjoy wearing summer clothes - I just don't own any. It all makes summer rather sweaty, and red.

Summer does mean longer days, and so today B told me we would be going on a walk once his lectures were over. It was lovely strolling along the footpath (once we'd found it) in the sunlight, and we made it all the way out to the ring road. And all the way back again, via the supermarket to buy salad. In this weather, I'm not eating much else.

The salad was sold out, apart from one lonely bag of spinach, and a pack of stir fry vegetables.

Thankfully, I had a lovely fresh bunch of aspargus waiting for me at home, so I created this:

Goats Cheese, Puy Lentil and Asparagus Salad
Serves 2 (or 4 as a starter)

Ingredients:
113g/4oz puy lentils
85g/3oz goats cheese
Bunch of aspargus (however much you want)
Handful of sundried tomatoes
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp sunflower oil
Seasoning

1. Drain, rince and cook the puy lentils according to the packet instruction.

2. Meanwhile, mix the vinegars, oil and lemon together. Season to taste.

3. Rehydrate your sundried tomatoes, if necessary, and chop into small pieces.

4. Dice the goats cheese

5. As the lentils near the end of their cooking time, boil the asparagus for around 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Drain the lentils and refresh under cold water. Drain the asparagus as well.

6. Return the lentils to the pan, and add a little of the dressing. Mix this through the lentils along with the sundried tomatoes. Spoon onto your plates.

7. Toss the asparagus in the remaining dresssing, and arrange on the plate. Top with the diced goats cheese, and drizzle any remaining dressing over the plate.

I've never tried puy lentils, and I haven't eaten asparagus in a long time. I was very pleased with both ingredients, and this is a salad I shall be making and adapting further in the future! It was light and fresh, but still filling - perfect for lazy summer evenings.