Asparagus time!

Asparagus aka Spargel in German is probably every German person's favorite dish and definitely marks spring time here. More than the weather sometimes... In Japan we only eat the green ones and they are a lot thinner. I miss those but I have come to also love the thick and white ones you can get here :)

When I first saw the white ones I wondered why are they actually white? Well, I looked at up and the white ones are white because they were deprived of light ("etiolated"). The asparagus couldn't produce the chlorophyll, which make the plants green.



Today's asparagus dish (not white but green!):
Green asparagus with fried ham and carrot risotto (without alcohol)

Asparagus was fried (peels on, only cut off the really hard bit at the end, fry until soft)
Fry the ham according to the way you like it (crispy?)

Carrot risotto
2 cups of rice
2 small carrots
1 small onion
About 4 cups of broth (made of fresh parsley)
Some butter and oil
Some hard cheese (parmesan)

Prepare the broth in a small pot: hot water (doesn't have to be boiling) with fresh parsley (you could just add instant broth but I don't really like the taste of it)

On a deep enough pan or a pot fry diced onions and carrots and risotto rice (sushi rice or milchreis could also be a substitute) until translucent.with a bit of oil. You can add white wine here if you want but don't have to. In a lower temperature, start adding the broth one ladle at a time to the rice mixture and continue steering. Do this until the rice looks cooked (c.a. 30 minutes). The amount of broth should be enough but adjust according to taste.
Add S&P and a bit of butter (1 spoon) for a bit of taste.
Sprinkle some cheese at the very end!

Bavarian breakfast

My sister was visiting last week and for this special occasion we did a "Bavarian breakfast" except for the weissbier part. We had white sausages from the butcher and home made Obatzda "orange cheese butter."

Here is my variation of how to prepare this meal:

*Munich's white sausages!*
Heat (not boil) white sausages with a slice of lemon (I put a whole one this time) and some parsley for extra nice favor! Better to buy organic lemon and always rise off the peel with luke warm water before putting it in the pot. Of course you could just heat up the sausages, but adding these two make it even better!

*Obatzda*
Obatzda is best when it is prepared a bit in advanced -- preferably the night before so it can rest for some hours in the fridge (the onion becomes milder too). For this recipe, I used half a butter (c.a.125g) and one small Brie cheese (75g) and 1/2 of a small onion (diced, and rinsed with water). Mix the cheese and butter until it is soft and add the onions. You can add a hint of beer for extra flavor (optional). at the very end add a spoon of "Edelsüß" paprika powder and mix well to get the beautiful orange. Make sure to only put this particular paprika powder because the taste as well as the color would be completely different if you use another kind.

















I bought the sausages at "Vinzenmurr." it's a Munich butcher "chain" so nothing special but I find their sausages quite delicious after comparing a couple. If you know a good place drop me a line! :) I'll be up for trying out new ones!