Asparagus help?!
Answers: what's something different to do with asparagus besides boiling? Any ideas?
I concur with the roast or grill crowd. Last night I made a pasta dish with a curry cream sauce and I used roasted asparagus and roasted peppers. Just spread the asparagus on a cookie sheet and drizzled with olive oil and salt and roasted for about 20 minutes.
roast/grill ..... I never boil it anyways. I lay it in a single layer with about 1/4" water, cover with waxed paper and microwave about 3 min. It's barely cooked that way, and still nice & green. You don't lose the nutrients into the water either.....
why not try grilling it
tastes great !
if they are the really pencil size stalks, cut them up and toss with the salad, raw.
I don't ever boil it. I put it in micro safe bowl, put on lid and cook on high for about 3 minutes. Butter and salt! Fancier, make cheese sauce, lay the asparagus on toast and put cheese sauce on it. Put Ranch Dressing on it.
after boiling, put it in the blender and buzz it until it is pureed. Put back in kettle and add some cream and butter. Soup!!!
Dip it in batter and deep fry.
Try whiel you're grilling taking some aluminum foil. Place inside of it some butter the asparagus, salt pepper, garlic, and a little seasoning salt. Fold up the foil around the asparagus into a pouch and cook on the grill. When you eat it its almost like every little piece of it has all the flavors in it.
serve over sauteed veal, topped with king crab meat and hollandaise sauce, the classic veal oscar
Marinate in balsamic vinegar, then grill. I had it this way once and it was fantastic. When you just boil it, you boil the nutrients out of the asparagus. Try it any other way and it will be better for you. Use fresh asparagus, not canned, the canned starts out soggy, and soft. and goes downhill from there.
Here's How:
Soak the asparagus in cold water for several minutes. Swish it to remove dirt and grit.
Bend each stalk gently until the tough, woody end snaps off. You may cut the ends off with a sharp knife.
Discard the ends or set aside.
If the asparagus is particularly tough or old, remove the skin from the stalk with a vegetable peeler.
To boil, tie the asparagus in bundles (this makes them easy to remove all at once) and immerse in boiling, salted water. Blanch for about 10 minutes, or just until tender. Remove bundles immediately, remove strings, and keep warm.
If using an asparagus cooker or tall pot, tie and stand the asparagus upright with the spears above water, then cover and cook just until the stalks are tender but still firm.
To microwave, arrange the spears in a round baking dish with the tips toward the center. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook on HIGH (100% power) for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender, rotating the dish a half turn after about 4 minutes.
Tips:
If using asparagus in a cold dish, plunge into cold water immediately after cooking.
Freeze the discarded stems for future use. They can be cooked and pureed for sauces and soups, or used to flavor stock.
Avoid cooking asparagus in an iron pot. Asparagus contains tannins which react on contact with iron, altering the vegetable's color.
I just want to make a comment about what American Man said about blanching asparagus. I have been in professional kitchens for years and there is not one green vegetable on this earth that I blanch for 10 minutes, even 5 is pushing it. Asparagus that is dropped into boiling water should be pulled out no later than 3 minutes in. The whole point of blanching vegetables is the keep them crisp and frozen in their shock state of chlorophyll green.
I trim and peel it then I chop and fry up some bacon, and when the bacon is almost crisp I add the aspargus, and if I have pine nuts on hand I throw in a handful of pinenuts yum!!
Roll up in some puff pastry or, phyllo dough with some cream cheese and brush egg a lightly beaten egg, then sprinkle with a little seasoned salt (mostly just for color) or paprika, and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
***Try adding some bacon, green onions, parmesean cheese, etc... to the chream cheese.
Never boil anything except potatoes!! Asparagus is good blanched or microwaved for two minutes and then tossed with pancetta/bacon and toasted almond slivers. Or gently fry with a touch of sesame oil and serve with toasted sesame seeds.