Still Feeling Peckish

 
Ok I know everyone is in the thick of Christmas feasting. And it’s really hard not to indulge with so much wonderful food around. But that’s why I really love cooking for occasions like Christmas – I have full control of the menu and a carb nazi like myself can make sure all the dishes are heart-healthy and yummy too!  So the trick is to have lots of vegetable sides on the table, and to ditch the potatoes and other root vegetables that are too starchy and carby. So this year I had Brussels sprouts, haricots vert, lots of salad and this simple but visually appealing asparagus dish.

One thing I love about Singapore is that there is an abundance of international produce (yes, well if you live in a concrete jungle with no agricultural scope you have to buy food from everyone else). Hon-shimeiji mushrooms are a difficult to cultivate variety of Japanese mushrooms that is rich in umami flavors. They are delicate yet hold up well with higher cooking temperatures (unlike enoki mushrooms that kind of wilt in seconds. And nothing beats the winey mushroom mix in elevating this simple asparagus dish.

[Recipe title=”Asparagus with Hon-shimeiji Mushroom Topping” Servings= “6” Time=”30 minutes” Difficulty=”Easy”]

Ingredients

• 250g thin asparagus spears
• 1 packet of Honshimeiji Mushrooms (alternatively can use enoki mushrooms), trimmed
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare an ice bath with cold water.
2. Blanch the asparagus for 1 minute, then remove and place in ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside. Season lightly with about 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.
3. In a skillet, heat up the butter over medium heat until the butter browns. Add the garlic slices and saute briefly till fragrant. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add the white wine and let the white wine evaporate slightly before adding the chicken stock. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and stir through the parsley.
5. On a platter, arrange the asparagus spears to be laid out flat and facing the same direction. Carefully spoon the mushroom mixture over the middle section of the asparagus spears. Serve hot.

[/recipe]