Fresh locally grown asparagus (or young carrots, broccolini, green beans) taste and look fabulous with this bright yellow dipping sauce. The bright golden-yellow color comes from curry, a blend of spices that contains ground turmeric. Turmeric is believed to have anti-flammatory properties that may protect us from certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.

California farmlands are famous for spring season asparagus. The stalks are hand-cut and hand-packed, therefore a bit pricy but worth the splurge. Choose thick, firm stalks with tight “buds” at the tip. Thick stalks usually indicate younger crops from younger fields, therefore are more moist and flavorful than skinny stalks. Refrigerate spears in a cup or vase, cut ends down, with an inch or two of water. Snap the cut ends off when ready to prepare. The stalks will automatically break at the best point of crispness.

Dip the spears in boiling water for just one to two minutes at most then refresh with cold water to stop cooking. You can also grill wet spears easily by aligning the spears in a flat row and threading with two skewers, crosswise through top and bottom. The parallel skewers make it easier to turn the asparagus. Grill on an oiled rack over hot coals or in a well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat on your stove for two to three minutes per side.

Aioli is a garlic-infused mayonnaise dipping sauce. This version has a touch of mayo for texture but is primarily Greek-style yogurt (or well-drained regular yogurt) to create a condiment that is a good source of protein, calcium and probiotics, healthy bacteria that aids digestion.

Ingredients
½ pound fresh asparagus (or vegetable of choice)
2 tablespoons Low-fat mayonnaise
7 ounce container (3/4 cup) Low-fat yogurt, Greek style
1 teaspoon curry powder, mild
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice (with a little zest)
½ teaspoon Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning (optional)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine sauce ingredients at least one hour ahead to develop flavor. Steam or grill the asparagus as listed above. Refrigerate asparagus and sauce for one hour or up to three days before serving.

Calories per cup of sauce: 170

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Source: The Healthy Table

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 12:28 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.