Spring GREEN ASPARAGUS TART

[Martin_Zwick]

By coincidence I came across several cook videos by Julius Roberts via Social Media. A former cook who left the city to establish a farm on the countryside. His book is called „Farm Table “.

What a cute&charming guy and soo much enthusiasm and positive aura. Always a smile on the face. We need more men like this, isn’t it. Anyway he reminded me a little bit on the young Jamie Oliver decades ago. OMG……I am really getting old, haha.

Lucky me, I had puff pastry, creamy goat cheese and chives in the fridge. AND my organic shop had fresh green asparagus in huge quantities as a special offer.

A lovely dish for Spring. Don`t forget to open a bottle of Champagne!

Ingredients

1 puff pastry ready-made
500g green asparagus
250g Ricotta
50g fresh creamy goat cheese (1 Piccandou)
2-3 tbsp Créme fraiche
chives
handful mint leaves
lemonpeel organic
1 egg
olive oil

Preparation

1. Combine Ricotta with goat cheese incl. chopped chives, chopped mint leaves and lemonpeel. Add salt&pepper. Also add a little bit Créme fraiche. Optional add a dash lemon juice.

2. Chopp the end of the green asparagus. Optional peel a little bit the asparagus.

3. Roll out the puff pastry on a baking tray and make a border with the knive

4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C or 400 F. I recommend fan. Add the ricotta mix within the border you made with the knive

5. Add in the greeen asparagus. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with egg-yolk. Put into the oven for 20-30min, rather 30min. After 15min add salt&pepper and a bit olive oil on top of the asparagus.

5. Remove from the oven and enjoy with a glass of Champagne. Spring is here!

[Martin_Zwick]

P.S.

The beauty of WINTER LIFE on a small farm in the countryside #VLOG #asmr #nature #cooking

Juicy tarragon roast chicken: Get the recipe!

[M1a_U]

Spring is definitely here, though we have chilly nights (3-4 degrees C) predicted for a while yet. Checked on my main asparagus bed yesterday and there were the beginnings of spears poking up towards the sun. I threw on an additional 2 inches of aged compost over the bed, but I’m guessing I’ll be able to start harvesting by next week-end.
It’s SO worth growing your own, and as it takes time (3+ years!) to get to where you can harvest a good crop, you might think about putting a bed of asparagus in this year.

[Martin_Zwick]

DANKE, Mia.

I have to admit that we put our gardening plans on hold, as we move to Tuscany in the next 4-5 years. Which means more sun, better soil and a 15ha garden incl. several hundreds olive trees (own olive oil).

At Easter we had early little green asparagus (from their own garden) with basil Gnocchi and mild Pecorino served by our future neighbours. SPLENDIDO

[Jason_T]

@Martin_Zwick

Which means more sun, better soil and a 15ha garden incl. several hundreds olive trees (own olive oil).

I’m so jealous at the prospect of this, Martin. I have no more than a few square meters, and no prospect of more (backlog for community allotments is so long they won’t even allow me onto the waitlist). Would love to be able to any vegetable gardening again. Some day….

[TGigante]

@M1a_U

Spring is definitely here, though we have chilly nights (3-4 degrees C) predicted for a while yet. Checked on my main asparagus bed yesterday and there were the beginnings of spears poking up towards the sun. I threw on an additional 2 inches of aged compost over the bed, but I’m guessing I’ll be able to start harvesting by next week-end.
It’s SO worth growing your own, and as it takes time (3+ years!) to get to where you can harvest a good crop, you might think about putting a bed of asparagus in this year.

Mia:
When is the best time to buy lake a bed and what is a good size? Is 2x3 ok or does it have to be larger?
Also, what are sun requirements.

[Martin_Zwick]

Jason,

pure luck and a willingness to leave the mother country. On the other hand there are a lot of properties to buy on the countryside in Italy. BTW, here is an interesting article from today which in part is also my feeling……“Tuscany felt like home“.

P.S.

the quality of the olives seems to be quite good, as the olive oil of our Swiss neighbours ranked Top 3 of an olive oil competition in Switzerland

[M1a_U]

@TGigante

When is the best time to buy lake a bed and what is a good size? Is 2x3 ok or does it have to be larger?
Also, what are sun requirements.

Now is as good a time as any to put in a bed as whatever you plant now will have the full season to grow (and asparagus crowns are available only in early spring). A 2x3 bed will probably hold six plants at most. But asparagus is quite a pretty foliage plant (the ornamental plant known as “asparagus fern” is a close relative) so you could plant it around as a dual-purpose plant, if you have appropriate areas where it will do well.

You can buy crowns (started plants) which will give you a head start on harvesting, but you’ll likely find only a handful of varieties. You can start plants from seed, but as asparagus is dioecious, you’ll end up with both male and female plants, and might want to select out only the male plants for more productivity. Obviously the latter takes way more time.

I have a long and narrow perennial bed for pollinators that I’d planted a few years ago along the edge of my property facing the road. I have been adding edible perennials wherever I can around my property, so along with the flowering perennials I included in this bed two kinds of gooseberries, various herbs (three kinds of sage, lemon balm, three kinds of thyme), and three plants of Precoce d’Argenteuil asparagus (a French heirloom). Then two years ago I put in a 3’x6’ raised bed planted with two well-regarded American-bred hybrids, Jersey Knight and Sweet Purple (all male plants).

I bought the French variety as seedlings from a local farm. I let them grow for two years without removing any growth, and in the third spring was able to harvest for two excellent meals. The American hybrids I purchased as three-year-old crowns from a specialty grower in Michigan (www.hgigreenhousefarms.com). The crowns I received were nice quality, but I’m sure you could find other suppliers perhaps local to you. I planted the crowns in very early spring and as they were older, bigger crowns I harvested 2 or 3 fat spears from each plant that year and then allowed them to grow on to gain in size.

In my limited experience the Precoce d’Argenteuil is clearly superior in flavour, but of the three plants I have two turned out to be female and only one is male. So my longer term goal is to start more Precoce d’Argenteuil from seed and select the males for either replacing some of the American hybrid plants or for planting in a second raised bed. I already have seed and hope to start on that project this year.

Growing requirements: asparagus is a heavy feeder and needs well-drained, rich soil. I top-dress with compost every year. All of my plants are in full sun for at least 8 hours during the growing season. The French plants get a bit more shade than the American hybrids.

Hope this helps!

PS. My hop plants are sending out shoots which also need to be trimmed back so the hop shoots will be on the dinner plate in the next few days. Hop shoots are cooked and eaten like asparagus, although they don’t have quite the sweet/nutty flavour–they just taste “green” to me.

[M1a_U]

@Jason_T

I have no more than a few square meters, and no prospect of more (backlog for community allotments is so long they won’t even allow me onto the waitlist).

I’d read about the crazy backlog for allotments in the London area. I hope more land is repurposed for this use/need. Asparagus needs sun and room for its fronds to spread out, so would probably be inappropriate for your situation. If I had very little space (as was the case when I was a graduate student), I’d grow herbs for sure, and maybe tomatoes or beans or greens–varieties you can’t buy at the shops. Egyptian onions (top-setting onions) can be grown in the ground or in pots, are very hardy perennials, and are both edible and wonderfully ornamental in a Dr. Seuss sort of way. They’re one of my favourite plants and I have them all over the garden. And I’d consider perennial edibles that are happy to live in a pot that can be taken indoors for the winter (dwarf citrus, caper plants, chile plants).

But no asparagus, sadly.

[Jason_T]

@M1a_U

If I had very little space (as was the case when I was a graduate student), I’d grow herbs for sure

And that’s what I do! 3 kinds of rosemary, 2 kinds of chives, 3 kinds each of oregano, sage and thyme, and some marjoram, savoury, tarragon and dill. Sorrel too. I figured I’d be happier doing that with my limited space, nearly always having fresh herbs on hand than just enough veg to make me want more.

[M1a_U]

I think fresh herbs are the biggest bang for your buck in limited space, probably followed by compact greens like watercress. My French sorrel has emerged and will soon be grown out enough for me to pick some leaves. I hope you’ll eventually be in a situation where you can have a larger garden. It’s really satisfying to eat food you’ve grown (or raised) yourself.

[TGigante]

Thank you Mia.

[GDoering]

This recipe looks delicious! This time of year, I am always looking for new ways to prepare asparagus.