Creamy asparagus grits

Creamy, delicate and filling food. In short, this recipe has everything you want from a risotto. Barley groats are an amazing local ingredient, they contain a third more protein, less carbohydrates and more fiber than brown rice. Thanks to the cashew, the crumb will acquire a wonderful smoothness and full flavor, while the nutritional yeast will create a cheesy taste. Asparagus makes a creamier crust and the green asparagus will bring the shine on the top!

Main dish

Creamy, delicate and filling food. In short, this recipe has everything you want from a risotto. Barley groats are an amazing local ingredient, they contain a third more protein, less carbohydrates and more fiber than brown rice. Thanks to the cashew, the crumb will acquire a wonderful smoothness and full flavor, while the nutritional yeast will create a cheesy taste. Asparagus makes a creamier crust and the green asparagus will bring the shine on the top!

Ingredients:

• 1 big onion
• 250 g barley groats
• 250 g white asparagus
• 250 g green asparagus
• 125 g cashews (ideally soaked overnight)
• 2 lžíce nutritional yeast
• 2 lžíce coconut oil
• Himalayan salt

Tip: Blanching is a method that allows vegetables to retain their beautiful color and texture. Put the vegetables cut into pieces in a large amount of boiling salted water, remove after a minute and cool quickly with ice water.

Instructions:

Cut off the woody end of the stem from the green asparagus. If it is thin and young, it might not even be needed. Try cutting off a few slices. If they are soft and free of visible fibers, feel free to use them whole. If it is  already coarser, it is better to cut it off and use the cutter for broth. We start by blanching the green asparagus. Bring salted water to a boil in a pan or a pot wide enough for the asparagus to fit comfortably. As soon as the water starts to boil, throw in the asparagus, take it out after a minute and cool it under cold water. Peel the white asparagus with a peeler and also cut off 1 cm of the hardened stem and cut it into rounds. Place half of the rounds in the green asparagus broth and cook until soft. Set the other half aside. We do not pour out the broth, we will use it later in the groats.

Fry the onion briefly in coconut oil, add finely chopped garlic and stir for a while. Rinse the grits in water and add them to the pot with the onion. Add rounds of raw chopped white asparagus, cover with asparagus stock and cook for about 25-⁠30 minutes until it is soft. Add water as needed and stir occasionally. In the meantime, blend the cooked white asparagus with cashews and nutritional yeast into a cream in a blender. As soon as the groats soften, mix in the asparagus cream, add salt and cook together.

We serve this meal with halved blanched green asparagus (which can also be deep-fried) with cashew nuts and edible flowers.

Enjoy your meal!