Sea Asparagus Pesto Shrimp and Goat Cheese Appetizer
Sea Asparagus Pesto Shrimp and Goat Cheese Appetizer is my appetizer entry in the Foraged & Found Blogger Recipe Challenge! In this scrumptious puff pastry appetizer, Sea Asparagus Pesto is whipped with goat cheese, Mascarpone cheese, and fresh dill! In this recipe, I discovered that Sea Asparagus Pesto is versatile! Sea Asparagus Pesto boosts the flavor in shrimp; so delightful! And stir Sea Asparagus Pesto with tomatoes, cucumbers, and scallions for a well balanced topping for appetizers. WOW ~ I am smitten with Foraged & Found Sea Asparagus Pesto!
Thank you Foraged & Found for providing 4 jars of Sea Asparagus Pesto!
THE INSPIRATION
The minute I read about the Foraged & Found recipe challenge for bloggers I knew I wanted in! I even knew what recipe I wanted to make! Now that is a change cuz usually I need to brainstorm and research a ton!
You see, a few years ago, I was competing at the World Food Championships and the competitors were required to make a shrimp dish. Through years of competition I have learned that WHERE YOU SOURCE INGREDIENTS FROM MATTERS! And so, I had shrimp from Florida, California, the Gulf, and Alaska shipped in. What flavorful fun I had testing shrimp from many bodies of US waters. AND what shrimp won? Drum roll…
The shrimp from the pure waters of Alaska won!
The shrimp tasted incredibly fresh and clean! Since that day, I highly respect cooking with products from Alaska!
Alaska has always held my heart since my first cruise there. The awe-inspiring beauty of Alaska and the fresh air speaks to me. And Alaska invites me to enjoy nature! If you read my bucket list you will find, “Explore Alaska.” And that doesn't mean on a cruise ship! That means put on my trail shoes or XTRATUF boots and explore the land; OH I will add time for plenty of foraging!
WHAT IS FORAGED & FOUND
Foraged & Found was founded by Jenn Brown, a former private chef who cooked on yachts traveling along the Alaskan Inside Passage. Her enjoyment to explore and discover the culinary world that is exclusive to Alaska impacted her BiG TiMe! Alaska, with its abundance of fish, edible aquatic plants, berries, veggies, and unique mushrooms won her heart. I get it! To a lover of foods and culinary artistry, Alaska is like finding the gold at the end of a rainbow. I definitely understand how Jenn decided her vocation would be discovering what super-foods could be harvested in the wilds of Alaska.
Today, Jenn has teamed up with 2 Alaskan born and raised women to develop Alaskan inspired salsas, pickles, and sauces that have been wild-foraged!
WHAT IS SEA ASPARAGUS PESTO
Sea asparagus is a super-food that is hand-foraged from wild Alaskan beaches. Sea asparagus is packed with nutrients. As with any pesto, the sea asparagus is blended with herbs and lemon to create a bright tasting pesto.
SEA ASPARAGUS INGREDIENTS:
Sea Asparagus, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil, Reconstituted Lemon Juice (Lemon Powder, Water), Almonds, Parmesan (Pasteurized Part-Skim Cow’s Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Garlic, Pepper.
Sea asparagus is loaded with Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, Folic Acid and Vitamin B9. There are claims that sea asparagus can help detoxify your liver and improve muscle function.
WHAT DOES SEA ASPARAGUS PESTO TASTE LIKE
A friend happened to be spending the night when I opened the box of Sea Asparagus Pesto from Foraged & Found! Skeptically, we glanced at one another...what had I gotten us in to? We opened a jar, and took a sniff; smelled fresh! After grabbing a spoon we dug in....okay, with caution! We were expecting an over processed muddled taste but instead our eyes opened wide as we both hummed a yum. The olive oil was fresh, the basil, sea asparagus, garlic, and Parmesan melded in harmony. I totally appreciated sea asparagus pesto has almonds instead of pine nuts! I feel pine nuts dominate too many pesto!
WHAT CAN YOU MAKE WITH SEA ASPARAGUS PESTO
I can’t give you all of my ideas for Sea Asparagus Pesto recipes because, after all, there is a cooking contest going on. But here is a tip: ANY recipe you make now with pesto will absolutely be enhanced by sea asparagus pesto! Think: pesto scalloped potatoes, pesto pasta, zucchini noodles with sea asparagus pesto, pesto sandwich spread and HeLLo Pesto vinaigrette for salads, quinoa and grains.
WHERE CAN YOU ORDER SEA ASPARAGUS PESTO
I was hoping you would ask that question! Here is the link! I just ordered Foraged & Found pesto, pickles, and salsas for stocking stuffers! The shipment took only a few days, and the shipping charge is only $10.00!
Sea Asparagus Pesto is great as a thank you gift, hostess gift, bridal shower party favor,
teacher or neighbor appreciation gift, or Christmas gift.
FOLLOW FORAGED & FOUND ON THE WEB
Website: Foraged & Found
Facebook: Foraged & Found
Instagram: Foraged & Found
CHECK OUT OTHER BLOGGER ENTRIES IN THIS CHALLENGE FOR ADDED YUMMINESS!
Contest hashtags: #foragednfoundak #eatwild #wildalaskanprovisions
Website: https://foragednfound.com/
Facebook:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foragednfoundak/
Sea Asparagus Pesto Shrimp and Goat Cheese Appetizer
Ingredients:
For Puffed Pastry:
1 (13 oz) puff pastry or 1 package
1 egg, lightly beaten
For Sea Asparagus Goat Cheese Spread:
1/4 cup fresh dill, rough chop
2 tablespoons parsley, rough chops
1 green onion, rough chop
Zest from one lemon
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 (4 oz) jar Foraged & Found Sea Asparagus Pesto, divided
4 ounces goat cheese
2-3 ounces Mascarpone cheese
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
For Sea Asparagus Pesto Shrimp, Cucumber and Dill Topping:
(Sea Asparagus from above)
12 ounces cooked or steamed Alaskan shrimp, cooled, tails removed, chopped
3 tablespoons Sea Asparagus Pesto
1/2 cup chopped Persian or English cucumber, skin on
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For Garnish:
16 cherry tomatoes, sliced into thirds
Sprigs of dill
Lemon slices
Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400° F. Unfold the puff pastry on to a sheet of parchment paper or a lightly floured surface. Note: Flour is not needed if puff pastry is packaged with its own sheet of parchment paper.
Step 2: Cut puff pastry into 8 rectangles or 16 smaller squares with a pizza wheel or kitchen shears.
Step 3: Place pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet 1-inch apart, and brush with egg wash.
Step 4: Bake (16) smaller pastry squares for 11-12 minutes. Bake (8) larger pastry rectangles for 15-18 minutes. Puffed Pastry is done baking when golden brown and puffy. Transfer puff pastry to a bakers rack until completely cool.
Step 5: In a mini food processor, combine dill, parsley, and green onion; pulse until minced. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons Sea Asparagus Pesto, goat cheese, Mascarpone cheese, black pepper, and olive oil; pulse until creamy.
Note: Salt and Sea Asparagus Pesto can be added to taste. Goat cheese varies in salt and creaminess therefore add extra olive oil when a creamier texture is desired.
Step 6: Combine Alaskan shrimp, Sea Asparagus Pesto, cucumber, green onion, dill, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Salt to taste as shrimp has various levels of sodium.
To serve, evenly divide and spread Sea Asparagus Pesto Goat Cheese Spread on top of each puff pastry. Evenly divide shrimp topping onto puff pastry. Garnish with tomato slices and a sprig of dill. Serve with sliced lemons.
Serves: 8-16 servings dependent on size
TASTY PREP PHOTOS
For more ALASKAN INSPIRATION head to:
Website: Foraged & Found
Facebook: Foraged & Found
Instagram: Foraged & Found
A Merry Recipe
