[Sca-cooks] Asparagus in sauce (long)

[a5foil]

Vincent and folks: I'm making a long post longer still, but it's hard to
comment without the original post. I'm going to make some minor adjustments
to the translation and offer some comments and suggestions to augment
Vincent's excellent redaction. And Vincent, please don't take these as
corrections, just expanding on the idea.

> Here's that recipe:
>
> "Libre de Sent Sovi (Receptari de Cuina). 1979 Editorial Barcino. Edited
by
> Rudolf Grewe.
>
> Capitol CXVII. Qui parla con sa deuen aperellar esparechs ab salsa.

Actually it is Chapter CXVIII. 117 is another asparagus dish, equally good,
but different (fried asparagus with sugar and spices).

>
> Si vols aperellar esparech ab salsa, se ffa axi: Prin lo tendre dels
> esparechs, e cou-los be'.  E quant seran cuyts, prem-los de aquella aygua,
e
> capole-us be': e puys soffrig-los en una casola ab molt holi.  E talle-y
hom
> ceba manut tallada e escaldade.  E quant son prop de soffits ab les sebes
> una pessa, a hom arop o mel, met-n'i hom un poc.
>
> E ffa hom salsa axi': Prin om pa torrat mullat en vinagre e de bones
salces,
> e trempa hom ab un poc d'ayguo calda ho brou.  E quant los esparechs son
> soffrits, a hom la salsa, axi com demunt es dit; e va ab ells, e axi
cou-se.
>   E no.n deu hom pertir la ma entro' que an perdut lo bolir e son levats
del
> ffoch.
>
> Quick and dirty translation (wanna help me out, Master Thomas?)
>
> Chapter CXVII.  Which speaks of how to prepare asparagus in sauce.
>
> If you wish to prepare asparagus in sauce, it is done this way; take the
> (tenderest?) of the asparagus, and cook them well.  And when they are

My interpretation was "take the tender [part] of the asparagus", so wash the
asparagus and snap off  and discard the woody part of the stems, leaving the
tender part.

> cooked, take them out of the water, and chop them well; and you can sweat

Don't confuse "prim" and "prem". Prem means to press them. In this case,
remove them from the water and press them of that water. The technique
explained elsewhere in the original text is to put the asparagus between two
platters and (gently) press the water out. They end up slightly flat, but
they fry better.

Soffrig-los means to lightly fry. The translated term is deceptive. The
technique is a low-temperature fry (as opposed to a saute' which is a
high-temp fry), but the food might or might not be fried until well done
(e.g., onions gently fried until caramelized and dark brown, but never
burnt). Makes you wish for a time machine so you could go back and see just
how far they were or were not frying this stuff. I would fry these until the
asparagus just starts to brown.

> them in a pan with much (holi?  oil?).  And add finely chopped and
blanched

molt = much/plenty, holi/oli = olive oil

> onion.  And when they are properly sweated (ab les sebes una pessa?
> Unsure.), add a little sugar syrup or honey.

and when they are properly (or sufficiently) lightly fried with the onions
awhile (una pessa = a time), add a little grape syrup or honey.

Arrop/arop = a grape syrup made from reduced grape juice that has just
started to ferment before it is reduced. There should be a recipe for this
in "confits". There is a recipe in MS 2112, but I haven't gotten that far,
yet. Today, Arrop refers to a unique dish made with reduced grape juice and
calabash.

>
> And make the sauce this way: take toasted bread moistened with vinegar and

mullat = wet or soaked. Adding the acid to the toasted bread is vital to the
outcome of the sauce. The bread needs to soak in the vinegar.

> some fine spices, and temper them with a little hot water or broth.  And
> when the asparagus are sweated, add the sauce to them, as is said above;
and
> it goes with them, and so cook it.  And you should not remove yur hand
from

N.B.: This implies that there is enough liquid in the sauce that you have
time to finish the dish without drying up the sauce. Better to start with a
sauce that is a little thin that to end up with goop.

> it until it has lost its boil and you remove it from the fire.

stirring constantly, so the sauce doesn't burn (and it will, if you let it).

>
> Redaction:
>
> 1 bunch asparagus
> 2-3 scallions, finely chopped (I had no small onions)
> 1 handfull (perhaps 1/2 cup) breadcrumbs
> 1/2 t. honey (approx)
> 1 pinch ground cinnamon
> 2 pinches ground ginger
> 4-5 peppercorns
> 2 cloves
> 1/8 t grains of paradise
> red wine vinegar
>
> I peeled and trimmed the asparagus, then set a pot to boil.  I ground the

If you set the pot to boil, first, you can parboil your onion while you prep
the asparagus. Then, while the asparagus is cooking in the water, mince the
onion. By the time you finish mincing the onion, the asparagus will be
cooked. Remember that you are going to fry it, too, so you don't want it
overcooked. When I do this dish, I try to get it just cooked, but still with
a little bit of crunch.

The wild, mountain asparagus I saw in the markets was pencil-thin or
slightly larger in diameter - about 3/8 inch - like early spring asparagus
in the U.S. If you get asparagus this size, you won't need to peel them,
just snap off the woody stems. Much thicker and you really do need to peel
them, because as elegant as this dish is, you don't want to be fighting
thick, fibrous asparagus.

> peppercorns, grains of paradise, and clves to a fine powder, then added
the

I used the Salsa Fina mixture described in the collection. You could use the
one from Nola, too. In my beta testing, I've found that cloves make
asparagus go bitter. Try grating some fresh nutmeg in place of the cloves.
Incredible.

> other spices.  I toasted the breadcrumbs in a small pan, then added them
to
> the mortar.  While the asparagus was cooking, I sweated the scallions in a
> little oil.  As soon as the asparagus were done, I lifted them out into
the
> pan with the scallions, then mashed up the breadcrumbs with a little

Remove the asparagus from the water and put them on a flat plate. Place
another flat plate on top of the asparagus, and holding the plates together
(gently), turn the plates up on end and press out the excess water from the
asparagus. Press too hard, and the asparagus will go flat and mushy. Don't
press hard enough, and the asparagus falls out. If you did it right, the
asparagus will be relatively free of excess water and oval in shape instead
of round. Being oval also makes them easier to turn in the frying pan...

Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces. Put the chopped asparagus in a pan
with plenty of olive oil. Add the minced onion, which will soak up a lot of
the oil. Lightly fry until the onions are nicely caramelized, but not burnt,
and the asparagus are just beginning to brown.

As you prep the sauce, let the toasted bread soak with the vinegar for 10 to
20 minutes. You only need enough vinegar to make the bread thoroughly wet
without leaving excess vinegar in a puddle. The acid seems to break down the
toast, and when you cook the sauce, it makes for a velvety finish you just
don't get without the acid.

> vinegar, the honey, and some of the cooking liquid from the asparagus to

I realize this is a matter of taste. The medieval Catalan aesthetic called
for the sweet and sour to be in balance. Just keep the honey and vinegar in
balance, however much you are making.

> form a thin paste.  I scraped it out over the onions and asparagus, then
> added more cooking liquid to thin the sauce a little more.

This effectively stops the browning of the onions and the asparagus. At this
point, you are mostly heating up the liquid, and blending in the remaining
olive oil, to achieve a starch-thickened sauce. It will be velvety smooth
and nicely thickened. Using the mortar beforehand significantly reduces the
time it takes to achieve this. Stir constantly, so the starch and sugar
don't burn.

> Since I was working so fast, I didn't take the time to chop the asparagus.
> The sauce was a nice light brown color, and was absolutely amazing with
the
> asparagus.  Much easier than hollandaise!

I think you did a marvelous job. If you felt that way about the sauce, you
got it right, because it is amazing.

Regards,
Thomas L.