24 May 2024
It’s that asparagus time of year once again. These tasty green spears are a harbinger of the warmer months of Spring and Summer – the first tips are ready for harvest shortly after the ground temperature hits 10°C.
Here in Almaty, Kazakhstan, locally-grown asparagus is currently having its moment in the sun, with many restaurants offering seasonal dishes featuring these flavour-packed spears of goodness.
Over the years, KCC has featured a number of asparagus dishes, such as a bulgur pilaf with asparagus (KCC’s first ever recipe), Mr Alan’s Top Tips, and in a stir-fry. This time round, after tracking down some locally-grown asparagus in Almaty, we’ve cooked it with chickpeas, capers, walnuts and tagliatelle:
Ingredients (for 2 servings)
- 150 g asparagus
- 175 g chickpeas
- 30 g walnuts
- 20 g capers
- 50 – 100 ml aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid)
- 25 ml olive oil
- 150 g dried taglaitelle
- One teaspoon fresh or dried rosemary
Method
- To make the green sauce, blitz 50 g of chopped, raw asparagus in a blender with 75 g chickpeas, the chopped walnuts and capers and olive oil. Keep adding aquafaba slowly until the sauce had a creamy consistency,
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions in a pan of boiling, salty water. Slice the remaining asparagus into 3 mm slices and cook with the pasta for the last five minutes. While the pasta is cooking, add the remaining chickpeas to the green sauce in a heavy-based pan, warm over a low heat and stir in the rosemary.
- Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving some of the cooking Waterloo to loosen the sauce, if needed, and add to the green sauce and chickpeas, combine well and serve.
Knidos Cookery Club 