Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Filo Cigars

BRITISH asparagus is in season from the last week of April to the third week of June and it's absolutely delicious. I love it lightly steamed with a little bit of butter or hollandaise sauce. But if you want something a little more substantial for a special starter or lunch, try this recipe. It's from the British Asparagus website where there are lots more lovely asparagus recipes.

British Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Filo Cigars
Serves 4
Preparation 20 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Ingredients
6 - 8 British asparagus spears
6 - 8 sheets Jus-Rol filo pastry
50g butter, melted
240g London cure smoked Scottish salmon
2 tbsp English Provender Company hot horseradish
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200c/gas 6.
2 Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and refresh under cold running water. Set aside.
3 Cut the sheets of filo in half lengthways to give you long strips and keep covered until you are ready to use them to prevent them drying out.
4 Cut the smoked salmon into long strips, roughly the length of the asparagus spear. Don't worry if you can't get long enough pieces, it's fine to patch it together.
5 Working with one piece of filo at a time (keep the rest covered up), brush one side with butter. Lay a strip of smoked salmon at one end of the pastry, spread it with a little horseradish and top with a piece of asparagus. Roll up the filo sheet around the salmon and asparagus to give you a cigar shape. Repeat until you have used all the ingredients.
6 Lay the cigars on a baking sheet and brush with a little more butter and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Allow to cool a little before eating as the asparagus will be very hot!

Take a look at these websites for more kitchen information and pictures:
Country Kitchens
Kitchen Gallery
Kitchen Talk

Subscribe to Kitchen Cook and we'll email you every time the website is updated. All you have to do is pop your email address in the 'subscribe' form in the panel on the right.