Asparagus - How do you eat yours?

I love this season.  You know the one... when asparagus starts gracing local farmers markets with its lovely presence.  Our very own delicacy which grows so easily over here.  A real treat in the eating seasonal food calendar.

These were the first sprigs I bought so I really wanted to do them justice. 

I smeared home made spring garlic pesto all over them and roasted them with some slow roasted tomatoes that I harvested from my garden last autumn.

The garlic pesto was made with garlic I started growing last autumn but in the spring, before we were about to move to Birmingham, I noticed what looked like white rot on one bulb.  Not wanting to risk transporting infected garlic to my new garden in Birmingham, I made a very powerful pesto with all the parts of the garlic that had grown so far.  The result is probably the most potent garlic pesto I have ever tasted and it really complements roasting vegetables - and it tastes devine with asparagus!

Stuffed Gem Squash

Do you remember the gem squash I grew in the garden last summer?  Gem Squash - the intrepid explorer  Yesterday, I thought it was time to do my home grown gem squash justice and what a delicious dish it made.  I just have to share it with you!

As my boyfriend is lactose intolerant I stuffed his gem squash with my home grown Slow Roasted Tomatoes, a finely chopped shallot, a mix of herbs ground with a pestle and mortar (oregano, chilli flakes, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, bay leaf, salt and pepper), poured some of the oil the slow roasted tomatoes were in and mixed the herbs with the stuffing by stirring around with a tea spoon and put the lid on.

I, on the other hand am not lactose intolerant and have a serious addiction to cheese - particularly nice, soft goats cheese!  So I started off stuffing my gem squash with a good scoop of goats cheese, slow roasted tomatoes, a drizzle of the oil the slow roasted tomatoes were stored in and the mix of herbs I used in Matt's gem squash.

I accompanied these with some lamb cutlets with a good spread of my home made (and home grown) Nasturtium Pesto

Then I roasted them all in the oven for an hour at 180 degrees centigrade.

Here's how they looked straight out of the oven after an hour.  When they came out the oven they smelt absolutely devine and tasted absolutely scrumptious. 

Recipes used in the making of this meal:
Nasturtium Pesto
Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

This is my all time favourite way to preserve tomatoes.  I do it every year without fail.  I love the way the slow roasting intensifies the sweet flavour of the fresh out of the garden tomatoes and then you've trapped that sweetness in a jar ready to brighten up the speediest of meals through the winter months.  They are always such a treat.

Before I started to eat seasonally I adored the flavour of sun dried and sun blushed tomatoes.  We don't have enough sun to do it here so this is the closest we can get to doing this locally and seasonally.  It works best with the freshest tomatoes and straight out of the garden is best.  It is also the most wonderful way to extend the tomato eating season well into winter when the main things growing outside are brassicas.  Actually slow roasted tomatoes compliment food like cabbage, kohl rabi, turnip greens absolutely perfectly.

Ingredients

12 tomatoes / 500g will fill a standard jam jar
Balsamic Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar
Rapeseed Oil

Method

1.  Cut your tomatoes in half (about 12 tomatoes or 500g will be sufficient for a typical jam jar)  
2.  Lay them on the grill tray cut side up and put the oven on the lowest temp the oven has (my oven's lowest temp is 80 degrees C).
3.  Then leave them in the oven checking progress about once an hour.  They take about 6 - 8 hours to fully dry.  When they are ready they are still a little plump and firm to the touch  (not completely dried out and hard or soft and squashy)
4.  Allow the tomatoes to cool
5.  Then put them in a dish with a little vinegar (about 50% white vinegar / 50% balsamic).  This should be enough vinegar to just cover the tomatoes
6.  After about 15 mintues they are ready to be packed into their jar.  Pour in the tomatoes with the vinegar and pour enough oil to completely cover the tomatoes.
7.  Seal the jars - I do this by placing the jars in a bath of simmering water for 20 minutes.  There are other methods and a good preserving cook book will offer a variety of methods.
8.  Label your jars.  Store in your food cupboard for up to 4 months and once you open a jar, store in the fridge and consume within a month.