American Tapas-Style Cooking

A Light Summer Meal - Asparagus with Pepper Sauce, Broiled Figs

Mar 18, 2009 Janice Fehlauer

Cooking in the summertime can be a bit of struggle.

There are so many wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables to be used and savored, but summer's extreme heat makes spending all day in a stuffy kitchen frustrating. These two recipes are a good compromise – they’re easy but intensely flavorful, and perfect for a light, evening meal in the summer.

The asparagus are served with a sauce that's perfect for dipping the bread, and the figs provide a sweet accompaniment to the meal.

In the spirit of Spanish tapas, serve this with a loaf of sourdough bread or a crusty baguette, and a glass of chilled sangria. For a more substantial meal, serve the bread with traditional Spanish Serrano ham. Enjoy the meal at a leisurely pace with some good music or good conversation.

Asparagus with Red Bell Pepper Sauce

You will need:

  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1.5 tbsp fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 lb asparagus, trimmed

Directions:

  1. Coarsely chop the bell peppers.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook over medium heat 15 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
  3. Place the mixture into a food grinder and add the balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper.
  4. Chop until it has the consistency of a thick sauce.
  5. Meanwhile, cook the asparagus in a pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, no more than 2-3 minutes for thin asparagus spears or 3-4 minutes for thick ones.
  6. Spoon the red pepper sauce onto a serving plate, and arrange the asparagus spears on top.

Broiled Figs

You will need:

  • 10-12 fresh figs
  • Crumbled feta cheese, approximately ¼ cup
  • Crushed walnuts, approximately ¼ cup
  • Olive oil

Directions:

  1. Rinse the figs gently with cool water.
  2. Hold each fig upright and with a sharp knife make two vertical cuts that divide the fruit into four sections but don’t quite separate the pieces.
  3. Place the figs upright onto a baking tray and gently pull the sections open so that each fruit looks like an open blossom.
  4. Sprinkle feta cheese and crushed walnuts into the centre of each fruit, and drizzle a 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil over the entire tray.
  5. Place under the broiler of an oven until just heated through, 2-3 minutes. (Careful not to let the nuts brown too darkly).
  6. Serve as a sweet accompaniment to the sourdough bread and asparagus.

Enjoy!

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Fresh asparagus, Janice Fresh asparagus