When is a soup not a soup? When it’s a salad! This is one of those convoluted and practically pointless stories about how Marinated Asparagus ended up with the things you see on this plate. It’s Saturday and I’ve got just enough time for a pointless story. I’m hoping you do too.
We have “turned the page” at my house. We’re still caregivers for a very frail 89 yo woman. So we still live with the limitations and responsibilities that accompany that challenge. But, as caregivers, we were eligible for first-round vaccinations and are now fully vaccinated.
Which opens the door to maskless small group encounters with other fully vaccinated folks. At my house that means a dinner party. It’s been so long since I’ve had people to dinner.
So you may be surprised to learn that when faced with the first chance to cook for people in a year I balked at featuring anything from the menu here.
Not that the menu couldn’t stand up to the scrutiny.
However, the main course I served at this first-in-a-year dinner party, Mushroom Lasagna with Gorgonzola Mornay Sauce, has been featured on this blog in the past. Everything I had to say about this luscious dish I said in 2014.
What about the soup course? Couldn’t I share the soup with you all?
I chose Naomi Pomeroy’s Asparagus Velouté with Walnut-Parsley Pistou from her cookbook Taste & Technique. Asparagus is the star of springtime and I thought this ultra-creamy velouté was a great way to feature it. Sophisticated. Elegant. It’s a perfectly Sippity Sup recipe.
The truth is I have my caregiving responsibilities to thank for the newly vaccinated reality I’m living. But caregiving is also the reason that though I have time for a dinner party (and a pointless story) I’m having trouble finding the time (and headspace) to work on this blog.
So I let the velouté post slip through the cracks.
The dinner party was a success. Still, I felt like I’d let an opportunity get away from me.
So the next day I assessed the leftovers. There wasn’t a drop of soup in the pot and my guests went home with the last two slices of lasagna. But there was quite a bit of the Walnut-Parsley Pistou left in the bowl.
I almost ran to the store to buy more cream to remake the soup. Yes, it was that good.
Instead, I decided to create something new that was inspired by Pomeroy’s elegant velouté. Marinated Asparagus with Burrata and Walnut-Parsley Pistou. I may have copied the flavors, but I can honestly say this salad is my own creation. Now that’s how you write a blog post! GREG
Bring a large shallow pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of salt. Carefully lay all the asparagus spears in the boiling water, making sure they are fully submerged. Boil about 2 minutes or until tender-crisp. Do not overcook. Strain the asparagus spears and immediately plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Use tongs to transfer the asparagus to a large ziplock bag, pour in vinaigrette, and seal the bag. Place the bag in a large bowl to avoid a messy leak. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, turning bag occasionally.
Just before serving, drain asparagus, reserving vinaigrette for another use. Arrange the spears on a serving platter and nestle the balls of burrata on top. Spoon about ½ cup walnut-parsley pistou over the asparagus and burrata. Serve with additional pistou on the side.
To make the garlic paste roughly chop 2 peeled garlic cloves and sprinkle ¼ tsp of kosher salt on top. Run the flat side of the knife back and forth over the garlic, applying pressure with your hand to massage the salt into the garlic and make a fine paste.
Ingredients
½ cupwalnut halves
½ cupextra-virgin olive oil
½ cupchopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
¼ cupfinely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoongarlic paste(see notes)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast for 3 to 5 minutes, until lightly fragrant but not overly toasted. Set aside to cool, about 10 minutes.
Place the oil in a small bowl and add the parsley immediately upon chopping to prevent browning.
In a food processor, pulse the walnuts 3 to 4 times to break them into small pieces. Add the cheese and garlic paste and pulse another 5 to 10 times. Combine the nut mixture and the parsley with its oil in a bowl and stir to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Print This RecipeTotal timeYield2+ cupsSource Adapted from BouchonPublished
This is just a basis for my salad dressings or marinades. I like to store it in my refrigerator in this basic form until I decide how to use it. At the minimum you should also add a pinch each salt and pepper just before serving. But the additions you can make are limitless.
Ingredients
¼ cupdijon mustard
½ cupwhite wine vinegar
1½ cupolive or vegetable oil
Directions
Combine the mustard and vinegar in a blender. Blend to combine. Then, with the machine running, drizzle in about ½ cup of the oil. Once it emulsifies and becomes very creamy turn off the machine and pour the mixture into a large jar. Add the remaining 1 cup oil. Secure the lid and shake to combine. Reshake just before serving.
For our first post-vaccination dinner party, I have to admit to being a bit of a nervous wreck! That’s a lot of pressure building up over a year… Would I implode or explode? You, however, manage with impeccable grace. I love your salad version of the soup, especially now that it’s getting warm in the desert.
Wow, that pistou looks INCREDIBLE. I’m envious of your dinner party! My husband and I just got our first dose yesterday, so dinner parties for us are still a good several weeks off. But I can’t wait!
I’ve decided that the next dinner party I host I’ll prepare a menu from the recipes in your blog. And your stories are never pointless–they’re always a joy to read (and to be perfectly frank, make me wish I can write like you!)
Wow. I think, no, I know I’d prefer this over soup! I alsolutely love what you did here. I can’t wait to make this for a girlfriend. She would be the one to appreciate the flavors and textures. And we’re both fully vaxed! Yay! And I have buratta coming this weekend. You need cheese for Easter, right?!!
What a deliciously wonderful party! I can only imagine that sexy looking Walnut-Parsley Pistou would be great on almost anything!
Looks great!
I always have time for pointless stories. And the more convoluted the better! 🙂 Congrats on getting both shots. I had my second on Friday, Mrs KR gets her this coming week. SO happy about it. We’ve already planned our first dinner party. Well, we’ve invited people who’ll also be fully jabbed and have their two weeks waiting period in. Haven’t thought about the menu yet. Maybe I should do this asparagus dish? It looks terrific, and would make a great first course. Or entire meal for the two of us. 🙂 Really good — thanks.
Congratulations on getting fully jabbed! I suspect it won’t be for a while for us, we are so behind. I was just dreaming about our first post-jab dinner party, did you and your guests do Covid tests first? Apparently, you can still be a carrier even after both jabs. Symptom-less tests are $200 here (such a money-grab) so I’m thinking it’s a bit steep to ask friends to do it, so we’ll probably continue to entertain outside, particularly since it’s getting nicer by the minute.
This recipe looks incredible, I will definitely make it as soon as I see local asparagus for sale.
All four of us were vaccinated and we waited the extra two weeks as advised. GREG