Carpaccio of white asparagus stalks

If you buy a 500g bunch of asparagus, you usually end up throwing away half, right? Or rather you end up throwing away half the money you spent. Try to use and cook the stalks and you’ll see that the taste isn’t any different – nor is the consistency after you’ve peeled them with a potato-peeler.

This recipe is super-simple, costs less than 1 Euro and is really tasty – it’s perfect as a starter or side-dish.

I used the stalks from white asparagus, left over from lunch the other day. Serves 4.

Ingredients

Stalks from a 500g bunch of asparagus

3 tbspns lemon juice

3 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

1 tbspn poppy seeds

Salt and pepper

Directions

Peel the stalks with a potato-peeler, throwing away the ends only if they are really hard and stringy. Finely chop the stalks and then steam them. You can use a bamboo steaming basket, or a pressure cooker with a steaming bowl. You can even steam them in the oven, especially if you are cooking other foods at the same time (fish, veges, fruit, etc.). Steam cooking for 10 minutes will be enough, or 5 minutes in the pressure cooker. In the meantime, place the oil and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the poppy seeds. Place the stalk pieces on a serving dish and cover with the olive oil/lemon “citronette”. Serve warm.

Lisa