Vegetables of the season

Each season brings us a bounty of wonderful foods and I particularly love eating asparagus! Living in Holland, the white asparagus is the thing to eat and I prepare it according to the traditional method used in the south of Holland. I decided to buy some green asparagus this weekend though and created a pasta with it. We enjoyed our meal outside on the patio and had some wine we brought back from The Alsace. We had a delicious Pinot Gris with this meal.

Here is the recipe:

Cut up 8 green asparagus stalks (4 per person). Cut off the tips and set aside. Cut up the remaining stalks and place in salted, boiling water for 4 minutes. Be sure to use a large enough pan as you will add the pasta to this water later. After the 4 minutes, add enough tagiatelle (noodles or pasta of choice) to the water for two people. Boil for a further 6 minutes. In the meantime, mix 2 egg yolks and about 1/3 cup of half and half. Add the asparagus tips to the boiling pasta and stalks and boil for about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the asparagus and pasta. Cook a sliced green onion in olive oil in the same pan and then add the drained pasta/asparagus, mixing well. Add a bit more olive oil and then stir in the egg and cream mixture being sure it coats the pasta. Add shreadded cheese (either Dutch mature cheese or parmasan) and again mix well. Place on the plates and top with a bit more shreadded cheese and freshly grated black pepper. Enjoy your meal!

For dessert, we had chocolate mousse clouds. Place chocolate mousse on a plate and top with whipping cream. Surround the sides of the mound with the whipping cream and then sprinkle with chocolate flakes.

Finish any good meal with a great cup of coffee or espresso and a small block of very dark chocolate. As we say here in Holland.....eet smakelijk!