Creamy Tangerine Dressed Grilled Asparagus Recipes

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH TANGERINE MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Put the tangerine juice in a small non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. Let cool to room temperature.
• Peel the tangerines, removing all the white pith, and segment over a bowl to catch both the segments and the juices. Cover and refrigerate until very cold.
• Combine the reduced juice, tarragon, egg yolk, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a blender and blend until well mixed. With the machine running, add the 1 cup olive oil, at first by drops and then, as mixture emulsifies, in a thin, steady stream until all the oil is incorporated. Taste, for seasoning. Scrape into a jar, cover, and refrigerate until needed. You should have about 1 2/3 cups mayonnaise. Keeps 2 to 3 days, refrigerated.
• Prepare the grill and let burn down to medium coals. Toss the cooled asparagus with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium to low coals, turning the spears as needed, until they take on a little color and are just tender, about 6 minutes. Cover the grill, if necessary, to maintain the heat.
• Arrange the asparagus on a platter with the reserved tangerine segments. Dot with the mayonnaise, and drizzle with any tangerine juice left in the bowl. Garnish with fresh or candied zest and the nuts, if using. Serve at once.
• Cook's Note: Every cook has insecurities. One of mine is mayonnaise. I always get a little anxious until I see it coming together in the blender. If the mayonnaise is too thick, thin it, with the machine running, by pulsing in a little cool water. If you are concerned about raw eggs, use a pasteurized egg product or an egg substitute such as Egg Beaters.

HOUSE FIRE STEAK AND SUGAR-GRILLED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
• Cut the cedar shingles down to size, about 10 by 5-inches, large enough for a steak to sit on it as a cooking surface. Spay shingles with water, so shingles are moist but not saturated. Oil the steaks and season with steak seasoning. Place each steak on a moist cedar shingle and place on grill. Close grill and let shingles smoke under steaks. If you don't have a covered grill, use a metal bowl to cover steak. Be careful, bowl will get burning hot. Cook steak until desired temperature and top each with 1 tablespoon Herb Butter. Serve on the cedar shingle with Sugar Grilled Asparagus.
• Mix garlic and herbs into the softened butter. Put in refrigerator for later use.
• Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
• Cut the tough ends off asparagus, roll in oil and coat with sugar and salt. Place asparagus on the grill and cook for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Turn asparagus to ensure even cooking. You know the asparagus are done when sugar is caramelized and asparagus are starting to look burnt. Sprinkle orange zest over asparagus before serving.

SOLE-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS WITH TANGERINE BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Prepare fish:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Brush a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan with some of melted butter, then sprinkle shallot and zest in pan.
• Trim asparagus to about 7 inches long, then peel spears starting from 2 inches below tip of each.
• Arrange fish fillets, skinned sides up, on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Lay 5 or 6 asparagus perpendicularly across 1 fillet and wrap fish around them to make a bundle. Repeat with remaining fillets and asparagus. Transfer bundles, seam sides down, to roasting pan and brush fish with remaining melted butter. Season with salt and pepper, then add water to pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake until fish is just cooked through and asparagus is crisp-tender, about 20 minutes.
• Make beurre blanc while fish bakes:
• Boil tangerine juice with shallot in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then whisk in 1 tablespoon butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly, adding each piece before previous one has completely melted, and lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture. Remove from heat and stir in salt, cayenne, and lemon juice.
• Transfer fish with a slotted spatula to a platter and reserve pan juices. Cover fish with foil. Discard zest, then pour pan juices into a 10-inch skillet and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk into beurre blanc.
• Blot any liquid accumulated on platter with paper towels, then spoon sauce over fish.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON DRESSING

Steps:

• Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus; most spears will break naturally an inch or two above the bottom. Peel the stalks up to the flower bud. Meanwhile, start a grill or preheat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it smokes.
• To grill the asparagus, toss them with about 1 tablespoon of the oil, mixing with your hands until they're coated. Season well with salt and pepper to taste. Grill until tender and browned in spots, turning once or twice, a total of 5 to 10 minutes.
• To pan-grill the asparagus, do not oil or season them. Just toss them in the hot skillet and cook, turning the individual spears as they brown, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove as they finish and season with salt and pepper.
• Mix together the lemon juice and shallot, then stir in enough olive oil to add a little body and take the edge off the sharpness of the lemon; the mixture should still be quite strong. Season it with salt and plenty of black pepper and stir in the parsley. Serve the asparagus hot or at room temperature with grilled or broiled swordfish, monkfish, or other sturdy fish. Spoon the sauce over all.
• You could serve these grilled asparagus with any of the vinaigrettes on page 304 in lieu of the lemon-shallot-parsley mixture here. If you were serving them as part of an Asian-themed meal, you might swap out the dressing in this recipe for Soy-Ginger Dressing: Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce with 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons rice or other mild vinegar, and a few drops of sesame oil. Serve over the asparagus.

CARBONARA-STYLE TAGLIATELLE WITH GRILLED ASPARAGUS AND LEMON-HERB BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Lightly drizzle the asparagus with EVOO, then grill until charred, evenly marked and tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Cut into 1-inch pieces on an angle, or thinly slice if the asparagus is thick.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
• Heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a small skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter into the oil; when it foams, stir in the lemon zest, then add the breadcrumbs and stir until moistened. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the breadcrumbs are deep golden. Stir in the chives and parsley and remove from the heat.
• Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and 2 teaspoons pepper, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 to 2 more minutes, then add the wine and reduce the heat to low.
• Lightly beat the egg yolks in a small bowl.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water just before draining the pasta, and beat it into the egg yolks to temper them.
• Add the asparagus to the pancetta mixture and heat through.
• Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the asparagus and pancetta. Pour the egg mixture over the top, turn off the heat and toss for 1 minute, adding the cheese in the last few seconds. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls and top with lots of the lemon-herb breadcrumbs.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to medium.
• In a shallow baking dish, toss the asparagus with the oil to coat well. Add the salt, and pepper and toss.
• Place the asparagus on the grill in a single layer, and cook, turning, until marked and tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil, to taste. Cover with aluminum foil and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Season the water with salt and add the asparagus. Cook until tender-crisp then transfer the asparagus to a serving plate. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top and season with salt and pepper, to taste.