AHH: Baked Asparagus Fries with Lemon Hollandaise Sauce; Guiltless Cheese Board
Nothing helps me unwind quite like a good glass of wine, great food, and fine company. This At Home Happy-Hour will deliver all three (because hey, why can’t the fine company just be comprised of you and Netflix, right?). I recently went to one of my favorite happy hour spots; they were serving these incredible tempura battered asparagus fries with a lemon hollandaise sauce. I was in love… that is… until I realized that the 5 spears I ate set me back 10 grams of fat and 412 calories. Holy Moly! I decided to find a way to recreate this masterpiece without all the fat, calories, and bloat that came with it. They were also serving this Ah-mazing cheese plate, but it was small and set me back about $20. So my mission was clear, this needed an AHH makeover, for both my wallet and my health.
On my first time I found success! By swapping frying the asparagus, to baking it with whole-grain panko bread crumbs*, not only did I save on fat and calories, but you don’t feel heavy afterwards. And the hollandaise sauce, be prepared to smoother everything you eat in this guilt free recipe makeover! As for my cheese plate, by purchasing cheese on special and asking them to give me personal amounts (for 2 people) the entire cost was only $7.50! Get ready to enjoy this At Home Happy-Hour, whether it’s a romantic date night, a night with friends, or a quiet night in (Netflix!)- This one’s set to satisfy without any dietary guilt. Did I not mention, this isn’t a 21-day fix cheat.
Baked Asparagus Fries with Lemon Hollandaise:
Prep time: 5 min Bake Time: 25 min
21-Day Fix Guide: 1- yellow, 1-green, 1-red
Ingredients:
Asparagus Fries:
10 asparagus spears, ends trimmed (per person)
1- cup whole grain Panko bread crumbs
3- beaten egg whites (save the yolks for sauce)
2- tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
Non-stick cooking spray, preferably olive oil
Hollandaise Sauce:
1- cup plain low fat yogurt
2- teaspoons fresh lemon juice, save lemon for zest
3- egg yolks
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350
Set up a breading station, in a shallow bowl beat egg whites, then on two separate plates, set up flour and bread crumbs. If bread crumbs are not seasoned, add salt, pepper, and salt free season blend. Dip each spear in flour first, then egg whites, then roll generously in bread crumbs until covered. Place breaded spears on a cookie rack (since I don’t have one I use a vegetable steamer, fully fanned out) on top of a cookie sheet and then spray both sides with cooking spray. Place in oven and bake 10-15 min, or until crispy and browned.
For the Hollandaise sauce, Use double boiler or like me - place a strainer/sieve over a sauce pan of water and place a bowl in the sieve.
Beat yogurt, lemon juice, egg yolks well
Heat over simmering water, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, approximately 15 min (sauce will become thinner after about 10 min and then thicken again).
Remove from heat and stir in salt, mustard, and pepper
Zest about 2 teaspoons of lemon peel and fold into the sauce.
*Pro Tip: don't throw away stale bread, make your own bread crumbs! Place in a food processor and do a rough chop until they are your desired consistency. Fresh bread only, not a problem! Place in oven at 350 until crisp but not brown. After they are chopped, season and enjoy!
21-Day Fix Cheese Board
Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 0
21-Day Fix Guide: 1- Blue, 1-Purple
Choose up to 3 cheese selections; make sure that your serving stays to 1/3 cup or a blue container.
I usually pick a soft, hard, and medium cheese. Here I picked: chevre, 18- year gouda, and an organic white cheddar, again, all because they were on special. If you want to spruce up your soft cheese, add some dried fruit, nuts, and a drizzle of honey (then add an orange container).
In lieu of bread or crackers, I choose dried fruit. Here in Seattle there is a wonderful company called Simple and Crisp. These are too die for! I use them in many recipes or just for a guilt free afternoon snack. If you can’t find this brand (at Whole Foods) and can’t wait for them to ship, try and find a fruit chip that is dried and not fried. Simple and Crisp only have one ingredient, the fruit itself.
Wine Pairing:
Add a yellow container for the wine or non-alcoholic pairings as your swap.
To match both a light crisp Rose or a grassy Sauvignon Blanc, they are versatile enough to match most cheese pairings, and bright enough to pair with the asparagus.
Non-alcoholic:
Cherry lime La Croix with Passion fruit puree. It was heavenly! If you can’t find the puree or juice (again Whole Foods, but I’m sure Wegmans carries as well) then splurge on a whole passion fruit. It’s delicate and tropical flavor is heightened by the cherry and lime. De-Lish!
