Wasabi Marlin with White Asparagus

Here's another recipe from my kitchen. I've always wanted to try white asparagus. It's usually hard to find and expensive so till now I never purchased any. The other day at our local produce market they had white asparagus and it was the same price as green asparagus so I decided to try it. It was packaged by Southern Specialties located in Pompano Beach Florida. When I got it home I read it needed to be peeled. I never even peel my potato skins, but I thought I better follow the advice on the package since it said the asparagus might be bitter if not peeled. Here's the pile of peelings which I found rather appealing. They are translucent and paper thin. I was imagining how or what could I do with this pile of peelings if they were clay? Ha. Oh the title to this post could have been appealing peelings.

I served the asparagus with brown butter. Brown butter is just butter melted with bread crumbs added, and cooked till crunchy. The recipe for the brown butter was right on the package. The white asparagus was also crunchy even after it was cooked but it had a very mild taste compared to green asparagus. Now I can say I've had white asparagus, the crunchiness was kind of nice and the asparagus was firm and fresh. Maybe I'll have white asparagus again some time. I think the first plate is a better color for food than the second one. The lighter green glaze enhances the look of the food much better I think.

I got the fresh marlin fillet at our local fish market in Homosassa, Shelley's Seafood. I patted it dry with a paper towel and set it aside. I melted some butter and sauteed a small shallot and some fresh chopped ginger. When the ginger and shallots were soft I pushed them to the side of  the pan and added the marlin fillet. While one side was browning I sprinkled the top side with a very generous amount of paprika and a little dried thyme. When one side was brown I turned the fillet over, again sprinkling a generous amount of paprika and some dried thyme.

Next I squirted some prepared wasabi sauce, the kind that is creamy and not as hot as the straight wasabi. I smoothed out the wasabi with a knife blending it with the paprika. The wasabi and paprika mixed together turn a pleasing orange color. After I turn the fillet over I cover the pan to speed up the cooking of the inside of the thick fillet. When the fillet was cooked through I placed it on one of my hand made lunch trays with the asparagus and some fresh tomato slices. Remember not to over cook marlin otherwise it will dry out and become tough.

These oblong plates are the perfect size for lunch. They're 9.75 x 5 x 1 inch and they stack nicely in a cabinet. I could see a salad served on these and on one side there'd be room for a piece of bread or roll. If you have a narrow table an oblong plate works well by taking up less space on the table top. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.