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The Ventura Family John Ventura has lived in the Dalmore area for 33 years and has been growing asparagus for 23 years. Together with wife, Jessie, son Johnny and daughter-in-law, Amber, John grows 93 acres of vegetables. Daughter, Ann-Marie is an accountant who is now studying Law. The family has grown a range of vegetables over the years, including potatoes, carrots, sweet corn and peas, but now mainly concentrates on growing asparagus. “I love this area. I chose to farm here because of the heavy black soils. Here you can grow just about anything,” says John As Johnny was growing up, he could hardly wait to work on the farm. “Every weekend and holiday or odd day off I worked on the farm. Farming must be in my blood,” he says. It seems Johnny’s three year-old son, Bradley, has inherited his grandfather’s and father’s love for farming. Bradley even has his own baby ‘sparry knife’ (asparagus-cutting knife) which has been beautifully made by Johnny’s cousin. Amber sends Bradley out to cut the asparagus for the family’s next meal, which might be a tasty side dish, a delicious omelette or fried rice with asparagus. “I especially like cooking asparagus in the microwave and serving it with olive oil, pepper and fresh parsley,” says Jessie. Here is Jessie’s recipe for Asparagus Omelette: Wash and cut 2 bunches asparagus into 1cm slices; cook in 2 tbsp olive oil with 1 crushed garlic clove and a dessertspoon of chopped parsley until al dente and still green, about 10 minutes; cool the asparagus to warm, drain off any excess liquid then remove from the pan and set aside; beat 3 - 4 eggs lightly and combine with 1 tbsp grated Parmigiano cheese, salt and pepper and the warm asparagus; reheat the pan with a little olive oil and add the asparagus and egg mixture; cook until the bottom of the omelette is set; turn the omelette once to cook the other side and serve hot. Jessie also has provided a recipe for Asparagus Fried Rice and Amber has provided recipes for Asparagus with Garlic & Olive Oil and Barbecued Asparagus with Chilli Butter. “We are lucky to have asparagus that is so fresh and juicy that you can easily snap it. To keep asparagus fresh, put it in a plastic bag, tie a knot at the top and keep it in the crisper. It’s important to remember that once asparagus has been cut, it behaves like cut flowers - you have to keep the stems moist and cool. If asparagus is limp during hot weather, simply stand it in a jug of cold water first and it should revitalize,” says John. John and Johnny Ventura can be contacted on (03) 5998 8312. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Back | Home | About Asparagus | Recipes & Tips | What's New | From the Chefs | Supplying Asparagus | Contact us | Site Map Copyright© Australian Asparagus Council. Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this website is correct and up to date, no representation is made or warranty given (either express or implied) as to the completeness, accuracy or currency of the information that it contains. Last updated August 2007 | |
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