Peas and asparagus with salted hazelnuts

The combination of hazelnuts and Parma ham adds pizzaz to these spring vegetables without overwhelming their fresh flavour.

Serves 4-6 Preparation time 5 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes

You need

• 200g fresh asparagus, sliced into

4cm pieces • 240g mangetout or sugar snap peas,

or shelled young peas • 70g Parma ham or prosciutto, cut into strips (you could also use regular smoked streaky bacon) • 2 tablespoons (30ml) butter • 2 leeks, green parts removed and cut

into slices • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped • grated zest of 1 orange • 2 tablespoons (30ml) hazelnuts, roasted

(or use almonds) • 2 tablespoons (30ml) chopped parsley Fill a large dish with ice water. Steam the asparagus and peas (or plunge them into a saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute) until bright green. Use kitchen tongs to remove the vegetables and plunge them in the ice water to halt the cooking process. Drain the vegetables in a colander and set aside.

Fry the Parma hamquickly in a nonstick pan or saucepan until slightly crisp. Add the butter, leeks and garlic, and sauté for about 10 minutes over a low heat until the leeks are soft. Set aside in the pan to cool.

Combine the orange zest with the roasted nuts and finely chopped parsley. Set aside. To serve Reheat the pan with the Parma ham and leeks until hot. Add the steamed asparagus and peas and stir-fry for 2 minutes until everything is warmed through. Stir the orange zest, nuts and parsley through, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and transfer to a beautiful serving dish. >