Langostinos:

1 lb. Langostino tails
2 strips bacon, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions (approximately 8, reserve tops)
1/2 whole bulb garlic, finely minced
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

Rice:

1 cup Jasmine rice, rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt

Asparagus:

3 tbsp. butter
reserved green onion tops
1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) button mushrooms, thinly sliced
16 stalks Asparagus
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt

Sauce:

1 stick (8 tbsp.) butter
1 whole bulb garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup White Zinfandel wine
4 tablespoons 100% pomegranate concentrate (syrupy, no sugar/sweetener added variety)

Tools:

12-inch & 6-inch skillet, 16-inch wok (a real wok, none of that non-stick coated nonsense), Wok paddle, Spatula, cool glass bowl, whisk, spoons.

Preparation:

Defrost Langostino tails and pat dry. Dice bacon into 1/2-inch pieces. Brush off white button mushrooms, reserving half for the Langostinos and half for the asparagus.

Cut the white to light green portion of the green onions into 2-inch pieces for the Langostinos. Reserve the green tops cut into 1-inch pieces for the asparagus.

Peel and finely mince the garlic, using 1 whole bulb for the sauce and 1/2 each for the asparagus and Langostinos.

Measure 3 tablespoons butter for the asparagus, 3 for the Langostinos and 1 for the rice.

Wash and finely chop parsley. Wash and snap off woody bottoms from asparagus.

Method for cooking:

Cook 1 cup of Jasmine rice in a covered pot on high heat, using the chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to lowest heat setting, and simmer, covered for 25 minutes. DO NOT OPEN, REPEAT DO NOT LIFT THE LID TO PEEK!

Sauce mixture:

In a small 6-inch skillet set to low heat, melt 1 cube of butter slowly so you don't break the butter. Whisk in 1 whole bulb of minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt when the butter is fully melted and giving off tiny bubbles.

After 5 minutes of cooking on low, add 3/4 cup of White Zinfandel Wine. Turn heat to medium low, and continue to simmer the sauce until the quantity of sauce has reduced by half (approximately 15 minutes). Whisk often. Taste (the butter and wine should be balanced in taste here) to see if you can tell there is a hint of wine still, if not, add a few splashes of White Zinfandel and let reduce for a couple more minutes.

Add 4 tablespoons Pomegranate Concentrate, whisk mixture for 30 seconds, turn heat back to low. Taste it to see if it needs more salt; it should be savory and tangy at this point. Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped Italian parsley. Remove from heat and let sit until Langostinos are ready, whisking every so often.

Asparagus:

In a large 12-inch skillet set to medium high heat, add 3 tablespoons of butter. Just as the butter starts to turn golden brown, add the 1-inch sliced tops of the green onions and mushrooms to the pan, toss to coat with butter and distribute evenly around pan leaving air gaps to allow browning, do not stir, cook for 4 minutes.

Push onion and mushrooms to outer edges of skillet, lay down the 16 stalks of asparagus in one layer inside middle of the onion and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt evenly across Asparagus. Let cook for 3 minutes on medium high heat. After 3 minutes of cooking, use a spatula to pick up and spread the onion and mushroom mixture over the top of the asparagus. Cook for 1 minute, toss and take off heat, set aside.

Langostinos:

Make sure the Langostinos are dry, and not overly wet from defrosting. Heat wok to HIGH heat (700°F), add sliced bacon, mix and toss. Cook for 45 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons of butter, wait 10 seconds, add the 2-inch cut green onion bottom slices to wok, mix and toss, cook 15 seconds. Add remaining 1 bulb of minced garlic to wok, mix and toss; cook 15 seconds.

Turn wok burner to SUPER HIGH HEAT, add Langostinos and cook for about 1 minute 30 seconds, tossing and mixing frequently. Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped Italian parsley to wok, giving it one final toss.

Have a cool glass bowl ready to dump everything from the wok into. Pour half of the sauce mixture we made earlier into the bowl with the Langostinos, toss.

Plating:

Put a serving of rice onto a plate, spoon half of the Langostino mixture over the rice, liberally spoon more sauce mixture over Langostinos and Jasmine rice. Add 8 stalks of Asparagus to each plate, and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings

Submitted by: Damion Rodriguez