New Season Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables and I so look forward to the start of Spring and the beginning of the asparagus season. Last night we had our first asparagus of the season. It was delicious!! I often roast asparagus, as I like the nutty flavour that roasting brings out in it. But last night I used a recipe from Dish magazine as a base – asparagus with romesco sauce. I thought that the romesco would go well with the fish (which I baked in the oven with a topping of wholemeal breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan and wild oregano) and boiled gems that we were also having for dinner.

The gems (I cant remember if they are called sweet gems, golden gems or wee gems!!) are kind of like a cross between a yam and a potato – they look like a very small potato, but have golden flesh like a yam. I actually am not a big fan. Vegetables are my thing – I love them all apart from swede and yams, so the taste similarities between the gems and a yam do not really do it for me. But my husband likes them. The texture is very waxy, so really the only thing you can do with them is boil them. I got mine from Nosh (www.noshgourmet.com).

The romesco sauce was really tasty. The recipe called for ½ cup olive oil, but I cut that back to just a drizzle. I guess that meant mine was less sauce like, but I liked that. It went well with the asparagus, the fish and the gems.

Romesco Sauce

1 slice sour dough bread, crusts removed
70 g packet whole almonds, toasted
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 roasted red pepper
200g tomatoes (as tomatoes are yucky at the moment, I used ½ can drained whole tomatoes)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil to taste
sea salt and pepper

- chop up bread, almonds, paprika and garlic in food processor
- add red pepper, tomatoes and red wine vinegar – combine to a smoothish paste (l like mine a little chunky)
- drizzle in enough evo to get the consistency you want and season with salt and pepper