By: Nicholas Leiss
Asparagus, Charcuterie, Cooked Vegetables, Eggs, Herbs, Spring Vegetables, Summer Vegetables, , , ,

Asparagus Mimosa with Puffed Quinoa & Crispy Prosciutto

Asparagus mimosa is an oldie, but a goodie. Somehow, this classic dish of poached asparagus and hard boiled eggs just vanished. The traditional way of serving asparagus mimosa is simple, quick and most importantly, delicious. So, like a phoenix rising, I decided to revamp this dish without straying too far from the original.

The first thing that came to my mind is: Where’s the meat!? Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is pretty classy and classic, so let’s run with that idea. Then came the idea of “bacon and eggs”. Yeah, prosciutto isn’t bacon, but it is just as tasty and brings the saltiness that this recipe needs. Also, let’s be real…who can turn down a dish with crispy prosciutto on it?

Next, I had to figure out how to incorporate puffed grains. But first off, what are puffed grains? The easiest way to explain puffed grains is to think of that iconic puffed rice cereal.

Back to figuring out the puffed grains. One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is boiled, tossed with lemon vinaigrette and sprinkled with a gracious amount of crunchy, toasted garlic breadcrumbs. That last part gets me going. For this dish, to add a bit of texture and uniqueness in a similar way, puffed grains came to mind. Imagine beautifully poached asparagus doused in hard boiled egg vinaigrette with capers and lemon, then sprinkled with crispy bits of puffed grains and prosciutto. Yum!

Day 1: Boiling the Grains

Prep Time: 5 minutes| Cook Time: 21 minutes | Total Time: 3 days | Yield: 3/4 cups

OK, so three days to prepare! Don’t worry, it’s really hands off and super simple. One of those days is simply boiling the grain like pasta. See, easy peasy. The next two days are letting the grains dry out in the refrigerator. Even more easy peasy. Farm2ChefsTable breaks it down day to day so you can cook like a chef at home.

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: Boiling the grains to make puffed grains is more of a technique than a recipe. All you need to do is follow the grain’s cooking directions and simply add a few more minutes. Yep, just slightly overcook it. That will help the grain puff (burst open) later when it’s fried.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup yellow quinoa
  • 1/4  cup red quinoa
  • 1/4  cup black quinoa

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: Nearly any grain works for this technique. You can use green, black or jasmine rice, any color of quinoa or barley.

  • 5 cups vegetable oil for frying
  • Water, as needed
  • Salt, to taste

Step by Step

  1. Fill a deep pot about 3/4 full with salted water and bring to a rolling boil
  2. Add quinoa and boil for 20 minutes
  3. Once the quinoa is slightly overcooked, drain the water
  4. Spread the quinoa onto a baking tray or large plate in a thin, even layer
  5. Cool the quinoa to room temperature
  6. Place the quinoa tray/plate in the fridge for two days so it dries out

Day 2: Making the Hard Boiled Eggs

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes | Yield: 4 hard boiled eggs

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs, preferably from pasture-raised chickens at the local farmer
  • Enough water to cover the eggs
  • Ice

Step by Step

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: It’s true, it’s as simple as boiling an egg. This method just sets the yolk. It cooks the egg more gently and allows the egg to be tender throughout.

  1. Place eggs (shell on) in a medium sauce pot
  2. Cover eggs with cold water
  3. Bring water to boil
  4. Once the water comes to a boil, immediately turn off the burner, cover the pot and let sit for 10 minutes
  5. Place eggs in a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes to halt cooking
  6. Once cooled, peel the eggs by rolling them on the counter to crack the shell then run them under cold water as you peel them to help loosen the shell
  7. Store the hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator until meal day

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: To control the cooking time, it’s best to cover the eggs with just enough water. An exorbitant amount of water is not needed to boil an egg.

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: Don’t lift the lid of this little egg jacuzzi! That would lower the water temperature. The best happy distraction I can offer is checking out some of my other blog posts as the eggs cook.5. Strain the water

Day 3: Preparing the Crispy Prosciutto

Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Oven Temperature: 400F degrees

Ingredients

  • 12 pieces thinly sliced prosciutto (I recommend Caselle prosciutto, made in Rhode Island with Heritage Breed Pigs from small independent famers)

Step by Step

  1. Heat oven to 400F degrees
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
  3. Lay the prosciutto slices on the parchment paper without overlapping and curl the edge of each slice like a nest so they don’t get too brown
  4. Bake until the slices start to shrivel and turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Keep your eye on it, as prosciutto can go from crispy to burned quickly
  5. Remove from oven and let them cool and crisp on a rack
  6. Store in an airtight container with the slices resting on a paper towel

Day 3: Puffing the Grains

Cook Time: 2 to 3 minutes | Yield: 3/4 cup

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: Puffing grains is a technique that goes back centuries. It is most commonly seen today in rice cakes, puffed grain cereal and popcorn.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup reserved boiled grains from Day 1 prep, they should be dry and ready to fry
  • 5 cups vegetable oil
  • Salt, to taste

Step by Step

  1. Prepare a medium saucepan or bowl with a sieve and set aside
  2. Fill another medium saucepan with 5 cups of vegetable oil (so that the pan is 1/4 full with oil) and heat until it starts to smoke, about 400F degrees
  3. Add the boiled grains
  4. They will puff almost instantly, and should be strained immediately
  5. Place the grains on a clean dishtowel or napkin, season with salt and let them cool
  6. Once cooled, store in an airtight container for later assembly

Day 4: Egg Mimosa Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 10 to 15 minutes | Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1/8 cup tarragon vinegar
  • 1/8 cup lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
  • 4 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoon capers, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon parsley, freshly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon tarragon, freshly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chives, freshly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chervil, freshly chopped
  • Salt to taste

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: The combination of parsley, tarragon, chive and chervil is called “fine herbs”, as they are more light and delicate in flavor than hearty herbs such as rosemary, thyme or sage.

Step by Step

  1. In a medium bowl, add salt, tarragon, vinegar, lemon juice, shallot, Dijon mustard, black pepper.
  2. Whisk the mixture for one minute
  3. Slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil and then add vinegar to emulsify the ingredients
  4. At this point, you have a vinaigrette
  5. Next, fold in the remaining ingredients (hard boiled eggs, capers, lemon zest, herbs)

Farm2ChefsTable Tip: In order to keep the bowl steady as you whisk, place a towel rolled in circle around the base of the bowl. This secures the bowl and keeps it from rocking as you whisk.

Day 4: Boiling the Asparagus

Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 to 10 minutes | Special Equipment: Butcher’s twine

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 lbs. asparagus, medium size
  • 4 cups ice
  • Water, as needed
  • Salt, as needed

Step by Step

  1. Put ice in a large bowl then add just enough water to cover the ice
  2. Trim off the woody ends of the asparagus
  3. Peel the asparagus from 1 inch below the tip down to the trimmed ends
  4. Boil a large pot of water and add salt to taste
  5. Tie the asparagus together in bundles using butcher’s twine
  6. Place the asparagus bundles in the boiling water
  7. Cook until “al dente” (tender, with a little bit of a bite)
  8. Once the asparagus are cooked to your liking, plunge into an ice bath to stop cooking
  9. Once cooled, remove the butcher’s twine and pat dry on a plate lined with paper towels

Day 4: Assembling the Dish

Prep Time: 1 to 3 minutes

Step by Step

  1. On a large plate, lay out a bed of asparagus
  2. Spoon a hefty amount of the vinaigrette over the asparagus, keeping in mind that it is super tasty, so the more, the merrier!
  3. Liberally sprinkle the puffed grains all over the dish
  4. Finally, place shards of the crispy prosciutto over top of everything
  5. Enjoy alongside your friends and family at the dinner table. This is a well-deserved meal!