Asparagus with chili Bearnaise #167

Asparagus is one amazing vegetable but serve it pan roasted with a chili flavored Bearnaise and my God!
Ok, use fresh green asparagus, peel if they are thick but usually they are just fine to use as they are. Whip up some classic Bearnaise and season it with dried chili flakes or fresh chillies if you have some.

If you´re not in a tapas mood this is a great side to all grilled meats as well, just serve a lot, I guarantee success!

Also if you´ve never made a warm emulsion sauce like Bearnaise before then make a practice batch before you invite people over since it can be a bit tricky the first time or two, good luck!

Asparagus with chili Bearnaise

asparagus
chili flakes (or fresh chili)
clarified butter
eggs
red wine vinegar
tarragon
parsley
chives
salt, pepper
olive oil

For Bearnaise sauce you usually make a reduction using red wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, pepper and let it all simmer for a while and then discarding the herbs and using the flavored vinegar with the egg yolks to start the sauce. This is a great way but it works fine to make it straight with the vinegar and add the spices and herbs as you go. Also there is some debate on which herbs should be added, I´m staying out of this debate, just make sure you use tarragon which is essential for the taste. This time I also added chives and parsley since those are my favorites.

Heat the clarified butter and set aside. Whisk together egg yolks with the vinegar and a little bit of salt and pepper. Carefully heat it during whisking on low heat until it starts to thicken, in most recipes this calls for a water bath but if you are careful it´s not a problem to do it on the stove. I use about one teaspoon of vinegar for each egg yolk and 1 dl / 1/2 cup butter for each yolk.

Once you have the egg and vinegar thick and warm remove it from the stove and start to add the warm butter a little at the time, if it gets to thick or starts to separate you can add a few drops of cold water to cool it down. Add all the butter and then season the sauce with all the chopped herbs and chili. Add more vinegar, salt and pepper if necessary. Roast the asparagus in olive oil in a pan and season with salt and pepper.

Poached rhubarb with blue cheese #165

Serving blue cheese with something sweet like jam or sweet berries is always a good idea, it works great with the fat and salty taste from the cheese. I used fresh rhubarb for this recipe, try to get small ones since their skin is thin enough to chew through, the bigger stalks usually need to be peeled and even though it will still taste good you will loose a lot of the beautiful color.

For the cheese i recommend a Roquefort, you won´t be using a lot since these tapas are served in extra small servings so spend a little bit extra on the cheese if you can. The cracker is an unsweetened rye one with less salt than traditional cheese crackers. I do prefer this kind since the cheese is very salty it brings a great balance but you can of course replace it with your favorite kind.

Also if you don´t have time to poach rhubard then head over to my previous cheese servings like Fresh dates with blue cheese or Roquefort cheese with rosehip jam.

Poached rhubarb with blue cheese

crackers
fresh rhubard
Roquefort cheese
water
sugar
fennel seeds
cardamom
black pepper
bay leaf

Bring equal parts water and sugar to the boil, add a few fennel seeds, a peppercorn or two and a tiny bit of cardamom and a bay leaf and let it simmer for a few minutes. The spices will give the rhubarb a hint of a different taste and will make it feel less like a dessert. Cut the rhubarb in bite size pieces and add them. Slowly simmer for about ten minutes, check it during the process so it won´t overcook. Once done you can let them cool off in the liquid.

Add the cheese to the crackers and put one piece of rhubarb on each one, serve.

Baked potatoes with sour cream, chives & bacon #164

Baked potatoes is a classic side for all grilled meats but why always serve one big potato for each guest, using small tasty potatoes is more fun, looks better and each guest can eat as much or little as they like. This recipe can of course also be served on it´s own like a tapas. 

Baked potatoes with sour cream, chives & bacon

small potatoes

sour cream 

vegetable oil

chives

red onion

bacon

salt, pepper

Dice the red onion, slice the chives and dice and fry the bacon until crispy, leave to cool. Clean the potatoes if necessary, toss them in vegetable oil, salt and pepper and then roast them on high heat in the oven until golden. Remove and leave to cool for a few seconds and then cut them half way through and carefully break them open. Fill each potato with sour cream, chives, bacon and red onion, serve.

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic #163

This is barely a lasagna but since I used lasagna pasta and it is served in layers I still chose to call it a lasagna. You can of course serve it with regular pasta and you can of course make it bigger and serve it as a main course. I prepared all ingredients before cooking the pasta since the pasta is a central ingredient in the dish it would be ruined if it were to get overcooked. 

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic

cooked crayfish tails

asparagus

garlic

cream

milk

salt, pepper

olive oil

spinach and or other leaf vegetables

Parmesan cheese

lasagna pasta

Peel and slice garlic and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, add milk and cream and season with salt and pepper. Blend into a creamy garlic sauce, set aside. Rinse the spinach and drain the crayfish tails (if they were sold in liquid). Slice the asparagus and parboil in salted water. Boil the pasta until almost done (it will get done once everything is plated). 

Add one layer of pasta and then add the asparagus, crayfish and then repeat for as many layers as you like. Whisk the sauce and pour on top and add a little bit of salt, pepper and grated Parmesan, serve.

Asparagus with poached egg & serrano ham #162

Simple as usual but since asparagus, ham and eggs go together like.. well asparagus, ham and eggs why not try this recipe. It more or less is exactly what it looks like, grilled fresh asparagus, a slice of Spanish serrano ham and a poached organic egg, a little bit of salt, pepper and olive oil and it´s time to eat.

Only tricky thing about this is probably to poach the egg, what I do is i carefully crack the egg into some white wine vinegar and a little bit of water and let it sit there for about ten minutes, this will make the egg hold together a little bit better, use a tea mug or small soup bowl to crack the egg in. Then the egg will have a round bottom to rest on. Then I carefully add the egg to salted almost boiling water and then turn off the heat. Using a spoon carefully make sure the egg doesn´t stick to the bottom. After about five minutes carefully lift out the egg and trim it on the sides if necessary. Serve.

Asparagus with poached egg & serrano ham

fresh green asparagus

organic eggs

serrano ham

salt, pepper

olive oil

white wine vinegar (for preparing the egg)

Trim the asparagus and brush it with olive oil and then grill it until almost cooked through. Add a slice of serrano ham to a plate and then poach the egg as instructed above. Add the egg and asparagus to the ham and season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Serve.

5 great egg recipes served as Tapas!

Eggs are one of my favorite ingredients, you can use it in endless ways and it´s both great tasting and looking. I´ve selected my five favorite tapas recipes where the egg is the focus of the dish. I really like to serve eggs as the main part of a snack dish since the size is usually great for one egg for each serving and you can add so many great things.

So expect more egg recipes to be coming to Delicious Tapas shortly, until then here are my favorites so far.
Under each photo there are a link that will get you to more photos and the recipe, good luck and enjoy.



Starting simple with boiled eggs with mayonnaise, shrimps and dill.
Eggs with shrimps and dill



Scrambled eggs in the shell with truffle oil and croutons.



Grilled onion, parsnip puré and olive oil poached egg yolk.



Scrambled eggs with dill marinated crayfish and sour cream.



Soft boiled egg with broad beans and shrimps.