Easy Gourmet Dinners: Recipes

Asparagus Pastries with Green Garlic 

          Preparation and cooking time:   25 minutes
     Puff pastry makes wonderful 'tarts'. The asparagus and green garlic (or green onion) are blanched quickly first.  Then it's just assemble and bake, for an easy but impressive first course.

 Ingredients:

• 6 asparagus spears, 5" (12.5cm) long, 112gr,  4oz
• 3 green garlic or green onion, 2.5" (6cm) long, 36gr,  1.3oz
• 2 tbs Greek Yogurt, 37.5gr,  1.3oz
• 4 cherry tomatoes, 45gr,  1.5oz
• 1/2 sheet puff pastry, 100gr,  3.5oz
• Chive Vinaigrette

 Instructions:

• Thaw the puff pastry, if needed.  Cut out 2 circles, 6" (15cm) in diameter.  (Use a bowl as a guide). Lay the cut pastry on a baking sheet.  Using a table knife, lightly score a line .5" (1.25cm) inside the edge of the pastry.
• Trim asparagus to 5" (12.5cm).  Reserve ends for another use. 
• Trim green garlic or onion by slicing off root and and removing 1 layer.  Trim to 5" (12.5cm), using as much green top as possible.  Reserve the white ends for another use.
• Bring 1 - 2 inches (5cm) of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the asparagus and garlic in one layer. 
• Add the asparagus and blanch for 2 - 4 minutes, depending on thickness.  Mine were as thick as my index finger and I did 3 minutes.  Remove and refresh in cold water.  
• Blanch green garlic or onions for 2 minutes.  Remove and refresh in cold water.
• Cut the asparagus in half the short way.  Cut the green garlic in half the long way
• Slice cherry tomatoes into wedges.
• To assemble: Spread Greek yogurt on the pastry, out to the scored line. 
• Laying them like the spokes of a wheel, radiating out from the center: put the asparagus tips at third intervals; put the asparagus ends next to the tips; put the green garlic or onion next.  Put one tomato wedge in each 'space'.
• Bake in pre-heated oven at 420F (205C) for 10 - 13 minutes, until sides of pastry have puffed around middle and are golden brown.  Remove and put on plates.  Drizzle with Vinaigrette and serve.

Chive Vinaigrette

• 1/2 tsp Dijon-style mustard, 2.5gr,  .09oz
• 1 tsp white Balsamic vinegar, 5.5gr,  .19oz
• 2 tsp fresh snipped chives
• 2 tbs good olive oil, 27gr,  1oz

 

• Whisk mustard and vinegar. 
• Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly.  Add chives, whisk well.

 

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Nutrition Information                     Vinaigrette Recipe serves 2            Entire Recipe / per serving Calories:  244 / 122 Total Carbohydrates:  1 / .5           Dietary Fiber:  .1 / .05 Total Fat:  27 / 13.5          Saturated Fat:  4 / 2 Cholesterol:  0 / 0 Protein:  .14 / .07 Calcium:  3 / 1.5 Sodium:  30 / 15

Nutrition Information            Pastry with Dressing Recipe serves 2            Entire Recipe / per serving Calories:  746 / 373 Total Carbohydrates:  48 / 24           Dietary Fiber: 4 / 2 Total Fat: 59 / 29.5          Saturated Fat:  20 / 10 Cholesterol:  7.5 / 3.75 Protein:  44 / 22 Calcium:  108 / 54 Sodium:   86 / 43

General Technical Details and Disclaimer:

Measurements in this color are actual measurements used for calculation.  If there are no values the nutritional numbers were simply too small.

I try to be accurate, but I do not guarantee it.  I use 'grams' as the unit of weight; with an approximate conversion to ounces.

My information comes from my own digital, computerized scale and the USDA Nutrient Data Library: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/