Chargrilled Asparagus Cour Recipes

Steps:

• Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus; most spears will break an inch or two from the bottom. Peel the stalks up to the flower bud. Meanwhile, start a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill; if you're cooking indoors, heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it smokes.
• To grill the asparagus spears, toss them with about a tablespoon of oil, mixing with your hands until spears are coated. Season well with salt and pepper. Grill until tender and browned in spots, turning once or twice, in all 5 to 10 minutes.
• To pan grill the asparagus, do not oil or season them. Just toss them in the hot skillet, and cook, turning the spears individually as they brown, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove as they finish, and season with salt and pepper.
• Mix together the lemon juice and shallots, then stir in enough olive oil to add a little body and take the edge off the sharpness of the lemon; the mixture should still be strong. Season it well with salt and plenty of black pepper, and stir in the parsley. Serve the asparagus hot or at room temperature with grilled fish. Spoon the sauce over everything.

Steps:

• Remove woody ends of asparagus.
• Toss asparagus in a bowl with olive oil.
• Heat a griddle, or barbeque and cook the asparagus for about 10 minutes, until al dente.
• Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with parmesan shavings to serve.

Steps:

• Heat a small frying pan and add the sesame seeds. Cook, shaking the pan and making sure the seeds don't burn. When they are fragrant and have turned a light teak colour, tip them onto a saucer.
• Steam the asparagus for 3-4 mins until almost done. Drop into a bowl of iced water to cool, then drain and wrap in a tea towel to dry really well. Cook the peas for 3 mins in the boiling water used to steam the asparagus, then drain and cool under a cold tap. Slice the courgettes on the diagonal, about 0.5cm thick.
• Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush the asparagus and courgette slices with the oil, and cook in batches until nicely striped with dark brown. Cut the asparagus into 5cm lengths.
• Mix the asparagus, courgettes, peas, rocket, feta and lemon zest. Grind over some black pepper and sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.

Steps:

• Start with the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 350°F Mix the tomatoes with 3 tbsps of the olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Spread them out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, skin side down. Roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until semi-dried. You can leave them there a bit more or a bit less, depending on how dry you like them. They will be delicious anyway. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
• Trim the woody bases of the asparagus and blanch for 4 minutes in plenty of boiling water. Drain and refresh under cold water, making sure the spears are completely cold. Drain well again, then transfer to a mixing bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil and some salt and pepper.
• Slice the zucchinis very thinly lengthwise, using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Mix with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
• Place a ridged griddle pan on a high heat and leave there for a few minutes. It should be very hot. Grill the zucchinis and asparagus, turning them over after about a minute. You want to get nice char marks on all sides. Remove and leave to cool.
• Heat the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Fry the manouri cheese for 3 minutes on each side or until it is golden. Place on kitchen paper to soak up excess oil. Alternatively, chargrill the cheese on the hot griddle pan for about 2 minutes on each side.
• To make the basil oil, blitz all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. You might need to double the quantity for some blender blades to be effective. Keep any extra oil for future salads.
• To assemble, arrange the rocket, vegetables and cheese in layers on a flat serving plate. Try to build the salad up whilst showing all the individual components. Drizzle with as much basil oil as you like and serve.