e_chiarandà_asparagus with goat cheese and

Chiarandà
Bianco – Contessa Entellina DOC
Asparagus with goat cheese and stuffed tomatoes
From: essen & trinken April 2006
Ingredients for 4 people
For the cream:
1 sheet of transparent gelatin
1 small green chili pepper
150 g (5 oz) creamy goat cheese
100 ml (3 1/3 oz) whipping cream
1 teaspoon untreated, finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons dry vermouth (such as Noilly-Prat)
For the asparagus and tomatoes:
4 firm tomatoes (100 g, 3 1/3 oz each)
50 g (1 2/3 oz) ciabatta bread
60 g (2 oz) shallots
1 clove garlic
Salt, pepper
500 g (1 lb) green asparagus
500 g (1 lb) white asparagus
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 basil sprigs
Preparation time
1 hour and 30 minutes
Nutrition values
407 Kcal, 9 g protein, 34 g lipids (fats), 13 g carbs
Preparation
1. Soak the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Trim the chili pepper, cut lengthwise, remove
the seeds and finely chop. Mix the cheese and whipping cream in a bowl and whip until
frothy. Season with the lemon zest, green chili pepper and salt. Heat the vermouth in a
small pot, melt the squeezed gelatin in it and add the mixture to the creamy cheese. Pour
into 4 glasses and chill in the refrigerator at least 3 hours.
2. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, scoop them out with a spoon, turn them upside-down on
paper towels and drain well. Dice the bread into 5mm cubes; mince the garlic, and salt and
pepper the insides of the drained tomatoes. Peel the asparagus (the bottom third of the
green, the white entirely), discarding the tough part of the stalks. Boil them in 2 litres (2
quarts) of lightly salted water, removing the green asparagus after 4 minutes and
immediately cooling in running water. Drain. Remove the pot from the heat, letting the white
asparagus cook for another 20 minutes in the water.
3. In a pan heat 3 tablespoons of oil, brown the bread cubes for 4 to 5 minutes over medium
heat, season with salt and pepper. Add the shallots and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes. Set
aside and let the mixture cool. Blend the basil leaves with the remaining oil and season with
salt and pepper. Mix the basil oil with the bread cubes and stuff the tomatoes.
4. Place the tomatoes alongside one another in a Pyrex baking dish or casserole. Bake for 8
minutes in an oven heated to 200°C (390°F) on the s econd to lowest rung (at gas mark 3
on a gas oven; in a ventilated oven for 6 minutes). Remove the tomatoes from the oven.
Re-heat both kinds of asparagus in the gravy, drain and serve immediately with the
creamed goat cheese and stuffed tomatoes.