A gorgeously green Spring recipe using lots of asparagus from our local growers, adapted from a tasty recipe from Anna Jones's latest cookbook One Pot Pan Planet. We still had some beautiful Purple Sprouting Broccoli (towards the end of April when we made this) and the wonderful abundance of wild garlic from our local woods- we pretty much throw it into all our cooking in April and early May! We are lucky to be so close to the vale of Evesham where so much great asparagus is grown as well.
Most of April was spent foraging this beautiful wild garlic
from all over our local woodland areas
Noodles with Sautéed Asparagus, PSB & Wild Garlic with sesame and pumpkin seed Brittle:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp maple syrup
Zest and Juice of one unwaxed lemon
1 x 400g bunch of asparagus
450g Purple Sprouting or Tenderstem broccoli
A large handful of wild garlic
One head of spring greens
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 nests of spelt or buckwheat noodles
Tamari Sauce:
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
Method:
For the brittle, toast the seeds in a dry frying pan until they start to become aromatic. Then add 3 tbsp of maple syrup, pinch of salt and chilli flakes and cook for another minute until the syrup starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from the heat and place on a plate lined with baking parchment. Sprinkle the lemon zest over and leave to set.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients with a tablespoon water and leave to one side.
Cut the asparagus tips then cut the stalks into 5 cm pieces on the bias. Cut the purple sprouting broccoli into similar size pieces.
Wipe out the frying pan with kitchen paper then put it on a high heat. Add a tsp of sesame oil, the asparagus and cook for a couple of minutes until the edges start to char, then add the wild garlic and let it wilt down. Pour in the sauce and add the noodles and cook for another minute.
Chop the brittle and scatter on top of the rest of the dish, then squeeze plenty of lemon juice over each portion.
