FOOD
Chilli-Changa ASPARAGUS
With Chef Charlie Bartlett of The Garlic Farm in Newchurch
Serves two
1lb Isle of Wight asparagus ...................................................................
4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt ...................................................................
2 cloves of garlic
................................................................... 75g of buter
................................................................... 1 Bird’s Eye chilli
...................................................................
Sea salt and black pepper to season ...................................................................
METHOD In advance make the Garlic Yoghurt by mixing together finely chopped garlic, yoghurt, and a sprinkle of chopped chives or parsley. The Chilli Butter can also be made in advance and will store in the fridge for three or four days. Melt the butter in a pan, and stir through the finely chopped chilli. Charlie prefers the hotter Bird’s Eye variety and leaves the seeds in for extra punch.
Get two pans of boiling water on the go; one for poaching eggs, the other the asparagus. Wash and trim asparagus, then plunge into one of the pans of gently boiling water, add a good pinch of salt and allow to cook for 2 minutes.
Whilst the asparagus is cooking poach your eggs by adding a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to the other pan of boiling water. Don’t spin the water – but gently break the eggs into a ladle before lowering into the water; allow them to gently cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Finish them off in the water that was cooking the asparagus to clean them of the vinegar. Asparagus should now be ready to remove from the water. Gently pat it dry and leave on the side whilst preparing your plate.
Place a generous spoonful of the yoghurt onto a shallow bowl or plate. Gently position your asparagus over the yoghurt. Take the poached eggs and place onto the asparagus. Drizzle the chilli oil and season with salt and pepper. The Garlic Farm serve this dish with a homemade onion bread, which adds a lovely sweetness to the dish. But a good crusty bread is great for dipping and mopping up the flavours.
ASPARAGUS Asparagus officinalis
Forget Paris in the spring – the Isle of Wight is the place to be when the first asparagus spears emerge into the warm spring Island sun. Asparagus is a member of the lily family, which also includes onions, leeks and garlic. It is known to have been cultivated for more than 2000 years in the south of Europe.
Asparagus was widely grown in the gardens of wealthy Victorians on the Island but it was not until the mid 1960s that a group of Island growers started to produce asparagus commercially, and today production is centred in the Arreton Valley where The Garlic Farm produces some of the earliest available asparagus in the country. Depending on the weather, the first spears usually emerge around mid-March and harvesting stops mid June before the summer equinox, allowing the plants time to produce the leafy ferns which recharge its food store held in its crowns (roots) for the following season.
Advertising Call (01983) 861 007
The flavour of our Island asparagus can be attributed to our maritime climate, some of the highest light levels in the UK and the fertility of the Arreton Valley soil. In addition, it is grown through seaweed gathered on our Island seashores, which gives it a unique taste and flavour – and makes it a rich source of iodine which it absorbs from the seaweed.
The Garlic Farm supplies many top London restaurants with very early English asparagus and The Garlic Farm Café offers many interesting and unusual dishes on the menu during the brief asparagus
season – come and try some of the dishes created by our award-winning chef, Charlie Bartlett.
Asparagus is low in calories and high in vitamins A, B and C – it is known to boost the immune system and, if eaten regularly, can help in the fight against some cancers and heart disease.
This year, The Garlic Farm has 10 acres of asparagus just waiting to be harvested and is also trialling new varieties for the future, some of which respond better to our Island climate.
May / June 2012 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96