Asparagus And Broad Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Blanch fava beans in a pot of salted boiling water just until tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to an ice-water bath. Blanch asparagus in pot until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to ice-water bath. Drain vegetables. Remove outer skin from fava beans (you should have 1 cup). Pat asparagus dry.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Swirl in oil, then add garlic and fava beans and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is softened, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer beans to a plate with a slotted spoon. Let skillet cool slightly, then whisk lemon juice into oil in skillet; season with salt and pepper. (Add more oil if dressing is too tart.) Add asparagus; toss to coat with dressing.
• Combine almonds and lemon zest in a small bowl. Transfer asparagus to a platter, top with fava beans, and drizzle remaining dressing in skillet over top. Sprinkle with almond-zest mixture and serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the milk in a pan until just boiling, then tip in the beans (add a splash of water to cover if you need to). Cook for 3 mins to defrost, then add the garlic, basil, lemon zest, spring onions and bouillon, then blitz for a few mins with a hand blender until smooth.
• Spoon half the purée into a 20 x 26cm ovenproof dish. Top with 3 lasagne sheets, the remaining purée, and the peas, then the remaining lasagne sheets.
• Whisk the cottage cheese with the egg and a good grating of nutmeg. Pour over the lasagne, then press in the asparagus and scatter over the parmesan. Bake for 1 hr until golden and a knife easily slides through. Can be kept chilled for two days.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a pan, then fry the spring onions for 1 minute, until softened. Add the wine and boil hard to reduce to about 2 tbsp. Stir in the crème fraîche, season well and add the nutmeg. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in the dill, if using, and squeeze in a little lemon juice. Set aside.
• Blanch the shelled broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain into a sieve and hold under running cold water to cool. Drain again and peel off the outer hard skin - make a nick in the tops and pop the beans out.
• Trim the asparagus - if it's young, it won't need much cut off the stems. Cut into halves or thirds. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water as per pack instructions, adding the asparagus 3 minutes before the end of cooking time. Cook until "al dente".
• Drain well, reserving a little pasta water. Toss the hot pasta and asparagus with the drained broad beans, smoked salmon and sauce, loosening with a spoonful or two of pasta water, if necessary. The heat of the pasta should reheat the sauce and slightly cook the smoked salmon, but stir over a gentle heat to warm through if necessary. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Cook broad beans in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, refresh in iced water, then peel and set aside.
• For spring onion vinaigrette, combine wine and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until reduced to ¼ cup. Meanwhile, blanch spring onion in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then refresh in iced water, drain well and set aside. Heat reduced wine and olive oil in a small frying pan. When warm add spring onion and broad beans, cook for 1 minute or until vegetables are warmed through and season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and divide between plates. Spoon over spring onion vinaigrette and broad beans, scatter with sprouts and serve.