Asparagus

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A few weeks ago I did my second online cookery class with the Carl Schurz Haus in Freiburg. This time the theme was plant based cooking with a very typical American dish – Pulled Pork. Pulled pork is a dish most commonly found in the south of the US, the pork shoulder is slow cooked over a barbecue and then shredded per hand and mixed with a barbecue sauce. Instead of the pork we used jack fruit. A fruit typically found in south and south east Asia, it’s used a lot in their cuisines. In it’s green unripe state it can also be shredded to resemble pork or beef. It has quite a neutral flavour so it lends itself well to any kind of marinade or flavour direction. In the cookery class we marinaded it with garlic, cumin, star anise and lots of home-made barbecue sauce. It works just as well here in this Mediterranean style stew. I would recommend looking for young green jack fruit in a salt brine, it will be lovely and tender and have a good base flavour. Jack fruit is a great source of fibre and vitamin C. This is a very balanced meal as the white beans are a great source of plant based protein and carbohydrates which will keep you nourished and satisfied long after the meal has ended.

Serves 6

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Ingredients

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Jack Fruit Ragout

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Method

To make the ragout, start by preparing the vegetables. Peel and chop the celery, carrots and parsnip root into small 1 cm cubes. Peel and finely chop the red onions and garlic. Place the drained jack fruit into a bowl and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Take a large heavy based frying pan, and put on a high heat. Prepare a sieve, placed in a bowl for the fried jack fruit. Once the frying pan is hot enough, add a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil into the pan and then carefully add in enough jack fruit to cover the pan, but not over fill it. Fry the jack fruit on a high heat, stirring occasionally, until it has a lovely brown roasted colour on most of the fruit flesh, tip the first batch into the sieve to allow the fat to drain and repeat the process with the next batch of jack fruit. Do clean the frying pan in between batches with hot water if a lot of the jack fruit has stuck to the base. Once the jack fruit is done, take a large heavy based saucepan, or large Dutch oven, and heat a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil on a medium – high heat. Add in the celery, carrots, and parsnip root, and roast on a high heat until they start to brown. Add in the onion, and continue to roast until the onion has softened. Add in the garlic, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Next add in the tomato puree, stir well and watch how the colour will start to turn a little darker. Add in all of the jack fruit, mix well, and then add a third of the red wine. Allow the wine to fully reduce before adding in the next third, reduce right down and then add the final third. Once that has reduced add in enough vegetable stock to cover all the vegetables and jack fruit. Add in the bay leaves and the thyme stalks and allow to simmer for about an hour. After about an hour the liquid will have reduced down considerably. Add in the chopped olives, capers, finely chopped fresh thyme and 1/2 lemon zest. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Mix the corn starch with a little water and whilst the ragout is till simmering add a little cornstarch at a time until the sauce thickens. You might not need it all. Turn off the heat. Add serve with the white bean puree. This dish can be easily made at least a day in advance and reheated the next day.

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White Bean Puree

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Method

If you would like to use dried giant beans then take a 500 g packet and soak in lots of water over night. the next day cook the beans in either a pressure cooker or in a large saucepan until the tender. Once they are cooked, don’t drain straight away but add salt to the water and allow the beans to cool in their cooking fluid. Drain the beans, reserving some of the cooking fluid. If you are using canned giant white beans, drain them reserving the brine.

Take 900 g of the cooked beans and puree in a blender or using a hand blender, using as little liquid as possible to create a smooth and creamy puree. Check for salt and season with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the puree in a saucepan to serve with the ragout.

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Pan fried Green Asparagus

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Method

Cut about 1 cm away of the ends of the Asparagus to remove the dry and woody part. Take a large heavy based frying pan, and heat to a high heat. Add a splash of sunflower oil and then place in one layer of asparagus. Fry on a high heat, so that they quickly brown but don’t over cook, turn occasionally. Once they are nicely roasted on all sides season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining asparagus. Serve the with white bean puree and the jack fruit ragout with freshly chopped parsley.

Enjoy! Do let me know what you think of this dish, or any other of my recipes in the comments below or on Instagram. Happy cooking!