Asparagus Flans, sformatini di Asparagi, will work nicely as an antipasto for an elegant meal, or in a light luncheon. To serve four you'll need:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 24 boiled asparagus spears (green will be best)
- 1 brimming cup (260 ml) cream
- 4 ounces (100 g) chicken breast
- 3 shallots
- An egg white
- Unsalted butter
- Broth
- Curry powder
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 4 crème caramel molds
Preparation:
Begin by buttering the molds, lining the bottoms with disks of oven-proof paper, and then the sides with asparagus tips, sliced lengthwise and cut to a length such that the points reach the bottoms of the pans. Cut the remainder of the asparagus into rounds.
Preheat your oven to 380 F (190 C)
Blend the chicken breast with 3/4 of a cup of cream, then stir in the asparagus rounds and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the molds with this mixture, stand the molds in a tray of water, and cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, julienne the shallots, and simmer them in the remaining cream, adding 2 ladles of vegetable broth, salt and curry powder to taste (go light on the latter). Simmer the mixture until it is reduced to a syrupy sauce, and spoon it over the flans after you unmold them.
A wine? A white, perhaps a Soave.
Preheat your oven to 380 F (190 C)
Blend the chicken breast with 3/4 of a cup of cream, then stir in the asparagus rounds and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the molds with this mixture, stand the molds in a tray of water, and cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, julienne the shallots, and simmer them in the remaining cream, adding 2 ladles of vegetable broth, salt and curry powder to taste (go light on the latter). Simmer the mixture until it is reduced to a syrupy sauce, and spoon it over the flans after you unmold them.
A wine? A white, perhaps a Soave.
