Asparagus Sesame Rolls Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry. Set aside., Flatten bread with a rolling pin. Combine the cream cheese, bacon and chives; spread 1 tablespoonful on each slice of bread. Top with an asparagus spear. Roll up tightly; place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. , Cut roll-ups in half. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Steps:

• Preheat grill for high heat.
• In a bowl, mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar. Place asparagus in the bowl, and toss to coat.
• Lightly oil a fine-mesh grill grate. Place asparagus on grate, and cook 8 minutes, until tender but firm. Garnish with sesame seeds to serve.

Steps:

• Trim tough ends from asparagus spears. Set spears aside.
• Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and half of the asparagus in a single layer.
• Cook for 3 to 4 minutes without turning. Shake pan occasionally. Turn, and cook 3 minutes more. Asparagus should be bright green with brown spots.
• Add 1 tablespoon shallots and half the sesame seeds, and cook, shaking the pan to toss asparagus, for 1 to 2 minutes or until shallots are transparent. Do not let them burn.
• Add half the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper, and cook 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm. Repeat with remaining asparagus. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Place the asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to a serving dish. Combine the water, soy sauce, oil, salt and pepper; drizzle over asparagus. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Grease a baking sheet.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate.
• When bacon is cool, crumble and set aside in a bowl.
• Place asparagus spears into a large skillet and pour in about 1 inch of water. Place over medium heat, cover the skillet, and simmer asparagus until bright green and slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Remove asparagus and set aside.
• Place cream cheese and chives into the bowl with bacon and stir to evenly combine.
• Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin on a work surface until the slices are thin and flat.
• Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over each slice of bread.
• Center 2 asparagus spears on a bread slice, and roll the slice around the asparagus into a tidy and compact cylinder. Place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Brush each roll with melted butter and sprinkle each with about 1 1/2 teaspoon Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden brown and hot, 10 to 12 minutes.

Steps:

• In a shallow pan, soak skewers in cold water for 1 hour, then drain and set aside.
• Preheat grill to high. Snap off the woody bases of the asparagus and discard. Skewer 4 or 5 asparagus spears together, using the toothpicks or 2 bamboo skewers, forming a raft shape.
• In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic and stir with a fork to mix. Brush this mixture on the asparagus rafts on both sides. Season the asparagus with a little salt and lots of pepper.
• When ready to cook, place the asparagus rafts on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds as they grill. You can serve the asparagus as rafts or unskewered.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath: Fill a large bowl halfway with ice cubes and add some cold water. Place a colander squarely inside the ice bath. The colander will keep you from having to pick the asparagus out from amongst the ice cubes in the ice bath.
• Add salt until the boiling water tastes like seawater. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes - you want them to be crunchy. If the asparagus are thin, cook for only 1 minute. Remove the asparagus from the water with a strainer and transfer them to the colander inside the ice bath. Allow them to cool completely for a few minutes and then place them on a kitchen towel to drain any excess moisture.
• Toss the asparagus, sesame seeds, and the sauce together and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat grill pan until hot; bring salted water to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan.
• Blanch asparagus spears for 1 minute; drain and plunge in an ice water bath to stop cooking.
• In a small saucepan combine soy sauce, sugar, mirin (or dry sherry), ginger, and garlic; heat over medium heat until reduced and slightly thickened; set aside to cool.
• Cut green onions in fourths, lengthwise, so you have long strips.
• Slice beef in 1/4 inch slices, then pound to tenderize and thin out.
• Dip beef slice in soy sauce mixture and place on a clean work surface; season with pepper.
• Place an asparagus spear and a piece of green onion on the beef slice and roll up.
• Do the same with the remaining asparagus and beef.
• Grill beef rolls about 2 minutes until slightly charred and medium rare. Turn several times and brush with soy sauce mixture.
• Remove to a serving platter and drizzle generously with soy sauce mixture.

Steps:

• Unfold pastry sheets and halve each parallel to fold lines. Roll out 1 half (keep remaining 3 halves chilled, covered with plastic wrap) into a 20- by 7-inch rectangle with a floured rolling pin on a well-floured surface. (Pastry will shrink slightly after rolling.) Brush off excess flour from work surface and both sides of pastry, then trim all edges with a sharp knife to make even. Cut crosswise into 6 (6 1/2- by 3-inch) rectangles.
• Brush rectangles with some egg wash and sprinkle each evenly with 1 packed tablespoon cheese, leaving a 1/2-inch border on long sides. Lay an asparagus stalk along 1 long side, then roll up asparagus in pastry, pressing seam to seal. Make more rolls with remaining pastry, cheese, and asparagus.
• Arrange rolls, seam sides down, about 1 inch apart on lightly oiled baking sheets and brush top and sides lightly with egg wash. Chill rolls until pastry is firm, at least 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Bake rolls in batches in middle of oven until puffed and golden, about 16 minutes.
• Transfer with a metal spatula to a cutting board and trim about 1/2 inch from ends. Halve each roll crosswise, then, starting about 1/2 inch from either end, cut each section diagonally in half (see photo, opposite). Stand asparagus rolls on end, 2 by 2 on platters, and drizzle each with 1 drop of truffle oil (if using). Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C.
• Lay out the sheets of puff pastry. They will defrost while you prepare the chicken.
• Cut the chicken breast into long strips. You will need half a large chicken breast or half a medium chicken breast plus the tenderloin from the other half.
• Sprinkle the stock powder over the chicken. I use an organic vegetable stock but use whatever you have. I have tried soy sauce but it makes the chicken too wet. Dry ingredients are better and light flavours don't overpower the asparagus. Add a grind or two of black pepper and a good pinch of salt. Make sure all the chicken is coated with some seasoning.
• Drain the asparagus well. Tinned/canned asparagus works really well in this recipe.
• The pastry should be defrosted enough to be able to cut the sheets in half. Cut each sheet in half to give you 10 strips.
• Put asparagus spears down the middle of each strip. Then lay a strip of chicken beside the asparagus.
• Beat an egg lightly and then brush some eggwash along the cut in the middle of the sheet of pastry.
• With a sheet in front of you with the cut going left to right (not up and down), take the edge near you and fold it over the chicken and asparagus. Use the folded edge to shove the filling nearer to you until it is tucked around the filling quite tightly.
• Now roll up the pastry to the eggwash and make sure the cut edge stays on the bottom of the roll.
• Brush the top with egg and sprinkle plenty of sesame seeds on top.
• Cut into 6 pieces.
• Repeat for the other 9 strips to give you 60 little bites.
• Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. The chicken will cook in this time and will still be moist and tasty.
• Take the rolls off the baking tray and cool slightly on a wire rack. Then serve warm or leave on the rack and serve cold. They are equally good warm or cold. They can be reheated but, like all pastry dishes, are better freshly baked.
• The rolls in the photograph I have posted were made with a low-fat puff pastry. As expected, they haven't puffed up as much as usual pastry but still tasted good. Let's face it, pastry is never going to be a low-fat food so you may as well enjoy it but just not eat it all the time. I'll be going back to the usual next time. 14/12/07 - Edited to add an updated photo of rolls made with regular puff pastry. Also, I increased the amount of chicken.
• Note: put the sesame seeds in a dish and discard any that you don't use. They could be contaminated by the chicken so you don't want to put them back in the bag.

Steps:

• With one hand, hold an asparagus stalk at its base. Bend the stalk over with your other hand - the asparagus will break where the woody part ends and the tender part begins. Discard the base. Place 4 or 5 asparagus stalks next to one another. Skewer them crosswise in two places - just below the tips and 3cm from the bottom - with slender bamboo skewers. You will end up with something that looks like a raft.
• In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and sesame seeds and stir with a fork to mix. Brush this mixture on the asparagus rafts on both sides. Season the asparagus with a little salt and lots of pepper.
• Grill the asparagus on a barbecue or in a griddle pan for 4-5 mins per side, turning with tongs. Sprinkle with sesame mix as they grill.

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:

• Trim asparagus spears to 6 inches.
• Flatten bread with a rolling pin.
• In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and the blue cheese until well combined; spread over bread; top with an asparagus spear and roll up tightly.
• Roll in butter; place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with Sesame seeds.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 14 - 16 minutes or until lightly browned.