spreads Archives • The Traveling Epicurean

Sun-dried Tomato Aioli Sauce & Asparagus

Sun-dried tomato aioli sauce and asparagus is a tasty and simple appetizer that you make ahead of time. Aioli is a mayonnaise based sauce or dip flavored with garlic and sometimes herbs, and or vegetables. With this sun-dried tomato aioli sauce I cut the mayo in half with one of my favorites, Greek yogurt, like I do with so many of my sauces. It’s just such a “good for you” thing that I love to do, plus I really like yogurt and I added in sun dried tomatoes to the aioli which are packed with an intense flavor.

I have you peel off the skins at the ends of the asparagus because it makes for an elegant presentation when serving as an appetizer like this. You don’t want the asparagus too cold when you serve this. It’s best at room temperature so since you will be probably making this ahead of time and storing it in the frig to keep well you should take the asparagus out first to bring it closer to room temperature before serving. And I want you to use the largest asparagus that you can find because not only does it present well but it tastes great. The larger asparagus are just as tender and earthy in flavor as the tiny ones.

In my baked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto appetizer there isn’t any need to peel the ends of the asparagus because they are covered with a cream cheese-grated onion & Parmesan mixture and then wrapped in the prosciutto so you don’t see the ends. Other appetizers that you may want to serve with this sun-dried tomato aioli sauce and asparagus are baked coconut shrimp, sea scallop ceviche, mussels in a lemon grass-fennel sauce, or best ever guacamole.

Ingredients for SUN-DRIED TOMATO AIOLI SAUCE:

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AIOLI SAUCE

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 lg garlic clove put through garlic press
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbps Rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
Juice from 1/4 lemon
1/4 Tsp chile paste (OPTIONAL) – you can use a few dashes of Tabasco or Siracha (chile hot sauce sold with Tobasco at the market) if you don’t have the paste

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients for the sun-dried tomato aioli sauce into a blender an purée
You will probably need to stop and stir everything a couple of times to get it going but once it gets going it will be just right…you can always add in another Tbsp of olive oil if you need to loosen it up a little
You can make this ahead of time and keep sauce in a plastic container and refrigerate. It stays nicely for days in frig. Yum!

Ingredients:

ASPARAGUS

24 asparagus – the larger the better
1 Tbsp salt for cooking the asparagus in water

Directions:

Bend asparagus to find the proper “break” point then cut the ends off to even them up
Using a potato peeler, peel off the skins of the asparagus at the bottom – 2″ up from the ends as shown in the photo
Put asparagus in cold salted water and bring to a simmer
Cook til tender but NOT mushy …this will only take a few minutes once it comes to a simmer
Drain and give them ice bath to shock …don’t need to make them ice cold just want to shock to retain vibrant color
Dry off asparagus on a paper towel and place on a serving platter

Pesto Butter Log

Even though they have been far and few in between having those few warm days has inspired me to bring out one of my spring recipes for fresh basil pesto butter logs which I love because it’s so versatile. Really simple to do and when you combine the pesto and butter to form the log you keep it in the freezer like the Challah bread croutons taking the pesto butter log out to slice off what you need and then back into the freezer. How easy is that? Try a slice of pesto butter on grilled filet mignon served on a bed of perfectly mashed potatoes and red onion, sautéed chicken breast and spinach, on a piece of Sea bass or put a slice of pesto butter inside a turkey or beef burger when you are forming the patty. Cook it on the grill or stove top and when you bite into it lovely garlicky pesto oozes out! Another creative thing to do when you are cooking pasta sauce and you want to add in some basil flavor just throw in a slice from your pesto butter log!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of a quality butter – room temperature

1 recipe of pesto

Directions:

Make a fresh batch of pesto and combine it with room temperature butter using a spatula

Tear off a large piece of saran wrap and place down going horizontally on a cutting board that will fit in the freezer

Scoop out the combined pesto-butter mixture and place in a 2″ wide line going down the center of the saran wrap… it should be about 12″ long log

Pull up both sides of the saran wrap and this will help round the mound

Fold over the 2 pieces of saran going in the same direction so there isn’t any air in it and begin to roll the pesto log

Pinch the ends, twist and roll again to get a good roll log shape …still holding on to the pinched ends

Place the newly formed log on the cutting board and pop it into the freezer til frozen about 1 1/2 hrs – 2 hrs.

Once the log is frozen you can remove the cutting board and place the log into a Ziploc baggy and back into the freezer

Slice off 1/4″ slices when ever you need and pop the log back into the freezer to keep