Asparagus Malloredus

fx

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:20:36 GMT

Thanks for trying this, John, and glad it worked for you!

John Iwaniszek

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:07:57 GMT

Dear FX,

I made this for my wife last night and it was as fabulous as you describe it here. I made a slight variation in using a small amount of shitaki mushrooms which I sauteed in the butter before introducing the asparagus.

I didn"t have any malloredus so I substitued gemelli.

Thank you for the wonderful and simple inspiration for an easy meal to make after a hard week at work.

John

Scotland Squire

Wed, 28 May 2008 03:52:58 GMT

Well, there is no romance going on here. My husband is too full!!!

I blanched the asparagus in the pasta water and then grilled it on my cast iron grill pan with just a bit of oil. I only had penne pasta to use, but this came out great. My husband doesn"t usually eat pasta and he went to town on this dish, overeating, I"m afraid. It was so delicious. You will love this dish. It is a must to try.

Scotland Squire in London, England

Marmota

Fri, 23 May 2008 06:28:44 GMT

fx, remember just a little bit of olive oil, no need for swimming asparagus. If you have one of these pans of cast iron with a non-uniform bottom (valleys and mountains, sorry I don"t know the name in english) used for meat mainly, they are the best. Otherwise a normal pan should do the trick.

fx

Thu, 22 May 2008 15:36:02 GMT

Marmota, thanks for coming out of the ethereal woodwork of the Internet and try this dish! You are definitely right to make the dish with ingredients you like, why bother with cream if you prefer soya, I"m sure the result is just as good even if different. I"ll try the asparagus fried in olive oil, sounds like a great idea!

Moonlight

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:16:01 GMT

Your recipe is very interesting.I like it so much :)

Marmota

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:16:16 GMT

Hi! enough of a leach then! I"ve been reading your posts for a while and really enjoyed them. Last week I decided to prepare this dish for my romantic self and it was really delicious! I did not quite use the same ingreadients, but using asparagus and champignos, and white wine (you can drink the rest of the bottle while enjoying the pasta) plus soya cream (sorry, no dairy products for me) it comes out just right!

btw, in spain we cook the green asparagus on the pan, just a bit of olive oil, then you toss in the asparagus and keep them rolling, a bit of good "fat salt" (as we call it, the big grain type) and they are really nice.

Saxit

Sun, 11 May 2008 19:36:54 GMT

#23 fx - I always cook my asparagus al dente :P

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:53:11 GMT

Xavier, thanks for trying this but with the Noilly Pratt it must have been a rather bitter dish! Perhaps you might want to try with whiskey, even a little drop goes a long way. Migros sucks for quality food, COOP rules!

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:41:42 GMT

Lucanis, I think this dish will definitely yield better romantic results as the Parmesan maggots. That night I did not have anything else, but you could definitely serve this with the Raspberry Moelleux although the calorie bill will running high!

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:36:34 GMT

Alex, I think you could do this with proper whiskey as well.

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:35:34 GMT

Saxit, fried asparagus are usually not considered a delicacy, you"d need a large amount of fat to cook them through anway. Yep, you lose a little of the flavor in the stock but there is so much asparagus in this dish anyway that it doesn"t really matter. Undercooked asparagus are not very romantic!

Xavier

Sat, 10 May 2008 15:53:31 GMT

Done tonight with my best mate ! My cellar was a little short in Cognac, so I did opt for Noilly Pratt in a totally different style (Ok, it"s just I could not afford the Henny). Match perfectly, in the pan and in the glass. Sweet and herbal.
Easy and gorgeous with a classy touch, I liked it.
Malloredus were really great, they did join la Pasta di Gragnano in my Pasta" Hall of Fame. I"m glad Coop has such a great choice. Oppositely, I was quite disappointed by the Selection Line of the Orange Giant. Doesn"t resist to the boil.
For dessert, Cardamom Ice cream di Luigi Predrazzi. Welcome in heaven.

lucanis

Fri, 9 May 2008 06:03:44 GMT

Hello fx,

my first thought from the first photo was that this must be from your adventure cooking series: maggots with parmesan.
But it looks delicious and might even turn me to green asparagus (around here it"s almost exclusively sold in the still-white state) because that definitely looks better.
Would you care to shortly elaborate about the remaining components of the meal? Appetizers, Dessert?

AlexFalk

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:57:28 GMT

Oh, to be honest, if someone was put off by the shape of the pasta, I would tell them kindly to leave.( with a swift kick to the rear)

It would be a fun experiment to see what different alcoholic beverages would impart to the dish. Grappa for one, or perhaps a dark Rum.

Saxit

Thu, 8 May 2008 16:22:46 GMT

Why do you boil the asparagus first? I"d just fry them from the start and skip the boiling part.
Since the flavour molecules of asparagus (and many other vegetables) are water solvable you only lose flavor by boiling them.

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:34:59 GMT

Jamie, thanks for visiting and I"m glad to hear good old Busta finally smoked you out of what is known as leech status on the web. Yes tofu is nice but I only eat freshly made tofu, not really sold in Swiss shops. But I have plans to make my own, it is apparently as easy as the Paneer of my other article. Hope to see you back!

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Alex, indeed they do look like maggots, very tasty maggots in fact. But the context and texture makes it clear before even touching them that they are just a short pasta. Maybe you could try with very short tubular maccheroni?

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:25:43 GMT

Richard, I am certain you can find some beautiful handmade circular salad bowl to serve this pasta if you feel your pot won"t cut it. That"s how Italians do, and God knows they know how to close a deal!

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:24:36 GMT

Thuan, Busta is like myself, a man of letters and of discerning tastes, and it is only normal I honor him in one article. After all, a man who drinks his weight in Cognac every forthnight cannot be entirely bad, right?

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:21:21 GMT

Kyle, thanks for your praise, I was myself converted to the cult of the Asparagus after cooking this!

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:20:43 GMT

Layni, thanks for visiting and I hope you get to try this dish!

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:20:23 GMT

Paul, how such a romantic dinner dish could not be anything but heart friendy?

Philippe

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:19:23 GMT

This looks absolutely delightful. The combination of Parmeggiano cheese and cognac must be fabulous !

It also helps that I adore asparagus anyway !

andreea

Thu, 8 May 2008 14:29:40 GMT

This looks delicious. Great idea. Oh and we have the same knife /set so like it even more :)

zorra

Thu, 8 May 2008 12:23:20 GMT

Okay, when I can pop in? ;-)

Jamie

Thu, 8 May 2008 11:37:07 GMT

Greetings from Brooklyn, NY! This recipe looks spectactular. Thanks again for more great food ideas and the as-entertaining-as-ever commentary. The Busta Rhymes bit led me to finally commment.

Do you ever cook with tofu? I understand it"s not tremendously popular among meat eaters (I am quite the serious carnivore) but do enjoy it from time to time. It"s ability to take on varieties of flavors makes it quite versatile.

AlexFalk

Thu, 8 May 2008 10:36:51 GMT

Another visual winner.
The pasta looks an awful lot like maggots, but I am sure the aroma and the taste would quell any misgivings by the diners.

I tend to barbecue my asparagus, but this method is one that I will have to try. (with the flamb� of course)

Richard

Thu, 8 May 2008 04:48:36 GMT

"ideal romantic dinner soaked with enough Cognac to guarantee the meal will meet a successful outcome! <...>For 4 as a romantic main course"

Say no more... nudge nudge. It must be those fancy pans, Francois. I only have mundane pots so I"ve only ever had a romantic meal with one other... Oh, you continentals ;-)

By the way, what are the terms of the afore-mentionted "guarantee"

thuan

Wed, 7 May 2008 20:21:40 GMT

Haha. I would have never imagined busta rhymes mentioned on this blog!

Kyle Wegner

Wed, 7 May 2008 14:19:22 GMT

I usually come here for the fantastic food, but today I enjoyed the humor even more. I love your wording throughout the entire post.

Oh, and did I mention that you made an asparagus dish that looks simply delicious? Thanks FX!

Jason

Wed, 7 May 2008 11:57:54 GMT

This looks reallly tasty and simple!

The Ladies Man, a popular sketch comedy on American TV, also drank Courvoisier. Sometimes funny.

layni

Wed, 7 May 2008 11:40:18 GMT

So simple & beautiful. Will definitely try.
Love this site.

Paul Mckenna

Wed, 7 May 2008 08:06:39 GMT

And this is part of your heart friendly theme of recipes ?

Still reads delicious and simple too.

Paul