Broiled Asparagus w Oyster Sauce

.. continuing from my previous post, I was looking for a super-quick meal this evening. So I made Stir-Fried Oyster Mushrooms & Snow Peas and paired those up with New Veggie #21 - Asparagus. It's early Spring here in Ohio and fresh asparagus is everywhere. I got a nice bunch of super thin tender stalks at the store yesterday and was looking forward to it all day today. 

Prep Time: 8 min

Ingredients:

1. A clean non-stick cookie sheet 
2. 1 bunch Asparagus
3. 1 tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce*
4. Salt, to taste. 

Directions: 

Spread asparagus in a single layer on a clean non-stick cookie sheet. Broil on high for 5-7 minutes until done. I like mine when it is just beginning to wilt and has a few brown spots beginning to show on the stalks. Remove cookie sheet from the oven, sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a deep serving dish and drip the oyster sauce over the top. The heat from the asparagus makes the sauce thinner so that a little bit goes a long way. Give the asparagus a quick toss in the watery sauce before serving yourself. 

Nik's Reaction: Even before I could ask him if he wanted to have any, he saw my plate and immediately said "Mom, can I have some bean-beans (green beans)?" 

My Assessment: I've had asparagus gazillions of times before. However, this was the first time I cooked it in a couple of years. At restaurants, I always order asparagus as a side if they have it on their menu.  Tonight, I really liked the fact that the stalks were super tender, it was broiled just right and I loved the flavor imparted by Oyster sauce. My dinner plate tonight was phenomenal!! 

* Oyster Sauce: In case you haven't figured it out yet .. I'm on an Oyster sauce kick right now. I hadn't had it for a while and then last week in San Francisco I had Broccoli in Oyster Sauce. While the version I ate at this Chinese restaurant was not vegetarian, it was amazingly flavorful and it reminded me of how much just a table spoon of this condiment can do for veggies. So what the heck is Oyster sauce?? 

Real Oyster Sauce is made by boiling oysters in water and condensing the extract until it is thick paste. This version has absolutely no additives, not even salt. As can be expected it is quite exorbitantly priced and is hardly ever used expect probably in gourmet restaurants. The version that is more routinely in Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine can also be found in grocery stores. Regular Oyster Sauce is a dark brown sauce made with water, sugar, and salt, thickened with cornstarch and flavored with oyster extract. This version is also sometimes darkened with caramel. Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, the kind I use, is typically prepared from oyster and/or shiitake mushrooms and imparts a flavor similar to the Non-Vegetarian version and is superbly inexpensive for the joy it provides :) 

Radicchio & Chanterelle Mushroom Pizza

This is my first posting under my New Veggie Quest which includes 2 new veggies. The honor of being New Vegetable #15 goes to Radicchio and that of being New Vegetable #16 goes to the Chanterelle Mushroom. I intended to only use Radicchio tonight, but the recipe I found on the internet for Radicchio required White truffle oil, which I didn't have on hand and I really wasn't in the mood for a trip to the store. A quick google search for substitutions revealed that I could use fresh truffles (right!! Big eye roll!), or I could substitute with any other type of fresh or dried mushroom with a strong flavor. I had just bought a small 1 oz pack of dried Chanterelle and suddenly, my dinner involved 2 new veggies :)

Radicchio & Chanterelle Mushroom Pizza 

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1. One whole wheat Naan (Stone Fire). 
2. 1 tbsp Earth Balance buttery spread
3. 1-2 tsp minced garlic
4. 1 medium sized Radicchio, sliced
5. 1 oz Chanterelle mushrooms, reconstituted.
6. Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Melt butter for 10 seconds in microwave and brush half of it on top surface of the naan, then spread minced garlic all over the buttered naan. I used a naan as I already had some at home. You can use a couple of pita-breads or even home-made or store-bought pizza crust.  Place naan on a pizza stone or non-stick pizza sheet in the oven for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, toss sliced radicchio, mushrooms, rest of the butter and salt and pepper. Remove naan from oven and add a generous heap the vegetable mix on top. Return to oven for another 7-10 minutes until radicchio appears wilted, and the crust is nice and crispy. Slice, and enjoy!! 

My Assessment: I really enjoyed dinner today. Li'l Nik stayed about a mile away from my pizza. I enjoyed the slightly bitter taste of the radicchio combined with the earthy mushroom flavor. I've always liked garlic pizza and would rather eat that instead of the red tomato sauce version, which would also work great with this recipe. I also like these mushrooms a lot, but I may be biased where mushrooms are concerned. I love all varieties I've tried in my life. 

Veggie Fact of the Day

Dried & Reconstituted Chanterelle Mushrooms

Chanterelle mushrooms are highly prized fungi. The fresh mushroom is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped, with gill-like ridges on the lower surface, underneath the cap. The fresh mushroom is rare. The flavor is often described as fruity (apricot like) and nutty with peppery notes. Chanterelles are high in vitamin C, potassium and are among the richest sources of vitamin D known, with ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) being as high as 2500 IU/100 grams fresh weight. Research has suggested that the Chanterelle may have potent insecticidal properties that are harmless against humans and yet protects the mushroom body against insects and other potentially harmful organisms. Dried Chanterelle mushrooms can be reconstituted by soaking them in warm water/broth for about 30 minutes or by added them to a simmering liquid 10-15 minutes before serving. The flavorful soaking liquid can then be retained for a sauce or soup.