Asparagus Dip/Spread (2 ways)

I had some asparagus that had sat in the fridge for a few days, and a party to go to. I thought, "Can I make a dip out of asparagus the way that Ottolenghi seems to be able to do with anything?" (his winter squash/tahini spread in Jerusalem is particularly nice).

So I cooked the asparagus a little past blanch to make sure it was soft, gave it a rough chop, and added garlic, parsley, lemon, parmesan and a little mayo, salt, pepper and a pinch of red chile powder, hoping for something that tastes a bit like asparagus with hollandaise.

Not bad, perhaps a little saucier than I liked (still fits Alton Brown's definition of dip, that can make it from coffee table to mouth without staining the carpet). The recipe below cuts down on mayo. It's more like artichoke dip, and it's really the same recipe with a different vegetable.

Asparagus Dip #1:
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends trimmed, chopped into couple-inch lengths
2 large cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 C flat leaf parsley, stems removed
1/2 C mayo
salt (at least 1/2t), pepper, cayenne or other red chile powder to taste
1/3 C shredded parmesan (I really should put a weight on this)
Cook the asparagus in a large pot of boiling, salted water, a little past blanched to make sure it's soft.
Put garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne in the food processor, finely chop. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you get a nice sticky texture.

Two weeks later, time to try it again (I keep buying the darned asparagus then not building a dish around it -- it's SueF's fault, but there was another party so...). This time, I subbed out the parm and mayo for 4 oz feta and 1/2 C full-fat yogurt, and the cayenne for about 1/2 of green chile powder (probably a bit much of that). I think I like this version better: tangier and saltier from the feta.

It made a great base for an eggs benedict-like lunch (yes, I over-cooked the eggs a bit, got distracted warming the spread in the microwave)


#bachelorchow

Thanks for posting your recipe. I made version #1 tonight minus the lemon juice. Good stuff!