Three Things to Do with Fresh Asparagus
May. 22nd, 2008 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaAsparagus is in season here and even grows locally. (It's not going to be in season much longer, I don't think; the stalks have already morphed from the slim bright-green ones that I got in early to mid April, grown thicker and darker and more fibrous.) I love asparagus, and I've been getting a lot of it in my organic delivery boxes, and here's how I've been cooking it.
(Note: These are emphatically not asparagus recipes to convert the asparagus-hater. I love asparagus, therefore they are recipes that jump up and down and shout ASPARAGUS really loudly at you. Mostly they involve just cooking it in different ways and eating it with very little else on top.)
Steamed in a Packet
There are a lot of ways to steam asparagus, but my favorite is to make a packet out of foil and put it in the oven. Within the packet, the asparagus steams rather than bakes, and I find it a lot easier than trying to wrangle asparagus into a steamer. As far as I'm concerned this is the best way to eat really fresh asparagus, and particularly really fresh young slender bright-green stalks of asparagus.
What you're basically doing with this method is steaming the asparagus in its own juices -- there's plenty of moisture in an asparagus for that -- though I usually wind up adding something additional for seasoning anyway. Wash the asparagus and trim off the bottom half-inch or so. You can either leave the asparagus whole or cut into pieces, depending on whether you want to be picking up whole spears and maybe dipping them in something, or whether you'd rather have it bite-sized for your convenience. They're easier to cut before they're cooked than after by a long shot.
Some people don't like asparagus stalks and just use the tops, but you wind up wasting an awful lot of asparagus that way; I'm cheap and really like asparagus, so I eat the whole thing.
This is a good time to preheat the oven. 350F is about right.
Anyway, take your asparagus and a piece of foil twice as long as the asparagus pieces or spears. Lay the asparagus on half of it, salt and pepper to taste (it's much more effective to season before cooking than after), fold the other half of the foil over, and crimp tightly up the sides. You should have something that looks like a pocket, or a pouch open at one end. You can just crimp up the far end and cook it like this, if you want, and it will steam beautifully, but I like to add a bit more seasoning -- some chopped butter or a little drizzle of olive oil, some minced dill or garlic, a sprinkling of sesame seeds, a squeeze of lemon juice. My favorite combination is salt and pepper, lemon juice, and just a smidge of butter.
(Obligatory note: if you are very against cooking with aluminum foil, you can use parchment paper. You'll have to do a lot of folding and stapling and the seal won't be quite as good, but it does work. I don't find it worth the bother, so I take my risks with aluminum.)
Now: crimp up that last side of the packet and put it on a cookie sheet or baking dish. (This vessel is just insurance, so that you don't get asparagus juice all over the inside of your oven if the foil packet leaks. 90% of the time, the foil won't leak, and you'll be able to put the cookie sheet or whatever away without washing. 10% of the time, butter and gunk will drip out, and you'll be really glad you used it.) Put it in the oven and ignore it for a while.
How long a while? It depends how you want your asparagus, and how thick and tough it is. 7-10 minutes will get you asparagus that's warm but still basically raw in texture. 15-ish minutes will get you asparagus in that zone called 'crisp-tender' by people who make up cooking terms. 25-ish minutes will get you increasingly limp asparagus. I like 10 minutes for asparagus I want in salad, 15-ish minutes if I'm going to be eating it with my fingers or tossing it with pasta, and 25-ish minutes if I'm feeling like well-cooked asparagus, which sometimes I do. Mileage may vary. Best way to figure it out is actually to pull the asparagus a little bit before your target temperature, fish out a piece, see how crunchy it is, and, if it's too crunchy, seal the thing up again and pop it in the oven for more cooking, no harm done.
Be aware: asparagus exudes liquid as it cooks. When you open that packet, be careful; it'll be full of hot liquid. If you added butter, oil, lemon, etc., try not to lose that liquid; it makes a great sauce for the asparagus.
Steamed asparagus is great as-is, or tossed with pasta and cheese, or... or probably a bunch of other ways, too, but I love asparagus so much that I never get round to trying other things, because I wind up just eating it with my fingers, in nothing but its own lemon sauce and maybe a small grating of parmesan.
Roasted
Roasting is my favorite method of cooking asparagus that's either thick and tough (particularly older, late-season asparagus) or that has been living in my fridge for too long as has gotten a little limp. It intensifies the flavor of the asparagus, adds a nice brown-caramelized flavor of its own, and softens up the stalks, making more fibrous asparagus considerably easier to chew.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
As before, it's much easier to cut uncooked asparagus than cooked, so unless you're planning on eating the stalks whole, go ahead and cut them up now. Then put them in an oven-safe vessel of some kind -- anything from a casserole to a cookie sheet. (I use my cast-iron pan, but that's because I have an embarrassing love affair with my cast-iron pan. It's one of the cooking implements I will cling to with a white-knuckled death-grip, along with my sharp 8-inch chef's knife and a good wooden spoon.) Salt and pepper the asparagus and drizzle a little vegetable oil over it, and toss to coat. (You don't need much oil, but a little keeps the asparagus from burning and sticking.) I generally don't add a lot of other flavorings at this point; if I want lemon in my roasted asparagus, for instance, I'll add it afterward, mostly because the high heat degrades the flavors of anything delicate like juice or fresh herbs. But some of the hardier seasonings (ground spices, garlic, etc) will do fine in the heat of a roasting oven. If you want something like that, add it and toss again to coat.
Spread the asparagus out in a single layer and put in the oven. I usually cook it for about 15 minutes, but I pull it out halfway to stir it. What you're looking for is for the asparagus to begin to brown and blister, and to feel tender when you poke it with a fork. I generally just go for well-done asparagus with this kind of cooking method, so the exterior will be a little bit crisp from the roasting but it should give when prodded.
Roasted asparagus is also great as-is, or chilled and used in a salad, or scattered on top of other dishes (such as risotto or pasta), or stirred into a pasta sauce.
Sauteed
Asparagus also performs well in a sautee. I usually don't sautee asparagus if I'm going to be eating it on its own -- I prefer either steaming or roasting for that, unless I'm short on time or don't want to turn on the oven -- but it can be sauteed along with other things in a stir-fry, sauce recipe, or for salad. If you want fully-cooked asparagus, you probably don't want to sautee it; I've only ever gotten the asparagus cooked to crisp-tender this way.
Basically, you sautee asparagus just like anything else: a little fat in the pan, let it get hot, add the chopped-up asparagus (don't try whole for this, unless you want to be flipping stalks onto the floor), and toss and cook. It's done when it turns bright green, 3-5 minutes. You can add seasoning as you go -- a little salt, a little pepper, a bit of garlic, a bit of ginger. I usually save the liquids like lemon to the end, though, because if the pan gets too wet you'll wind up steaming or boiling the asparagus instead of sauteeing it.
If you let the asparagus sit against the pan for a minute or two before you start to stir, you can get some browning going.
This is good for adding to sautees and stir-fries (duh), for making into a sauce, or if you want to cook some asparagus really quickly to add to a salad. Or if you want asparagus now and don't want to wait a dozen minutes for it to come out of the oven....
You can also cook asparagus in hot liquid; this is mostly useful for adding to dishes that already are a hot liquid, such as soups and risottos. Just toss it into the hot liquid 3-5 minutes before the whole dish will be done; adding it right at the end prevents it from overcooking. And you can use the above methods in conjunction with other things: for instance, since asparagus reacts well to dry-heat roasting, you can put it on a pizza as a pizza topping. Just add asparagus (chopped up bite-sized, but otherwise unseasoned) at the same time you add the pepperoni or mushrooms or whatever, and bake as normal. Or bake fish in a foil pouch, and add some asparagus along with it, and it'll steam just as nicely as if you'd just put it in on its own. Like that.
(It's a good thing I'm posting this on my lunch break: it's making me hungry.)
(Note: These are emphatically not asparagus recipes to convert the asparagus-hater. I love asparagus, therefore they are recipes that jump up and down and shout ASPARAGUS really loudly at you. Mostly they involve just cooking it in different ways and eating it with very little else on top.)
Steamed in a Packet
There are a lot of ways to steam asparagus, but my favorite is to make a packet out of foil and put it in the oven. Within the packet, the asparagus steams rather than bakes, and I find it a lot easier than trying to wrangle asparagus into a steamer. As far as I'm concerned this is the best way to eat really fresh asparagus, and particularly really fresh young slender bright-green stalks of asparagus.
What you're basically doing with this method is steaming the asparagus in its own juices -- there's plenty of moisture in an asparagus for that -- though I usually wind up adding something additional for seasoning anyway. Wash the asparagus and trim off the bottom half-inch or so. You can either leave the asparagus whole or cut into pieces, depending on whether you want to be picking up whole spears and maybe dipping them in something, or whether you'd rather have it bite-sized for your convenience. They're easier to cut before they're cooked than after by a long shot.
Some people don't like asparagus stalks and just use the tops, but you wind up wasting an awful lot of asparagus that way; I'm cheap and really like asparagus, so I eat the whole thing.
This is a good time to preheat the oven. 350F is about right.
Anyway, take your asparagus and a piece of foil twice as long as the asparagus pieces or spears. Lay the asparagus on half of it, salt and pepper to taste (it's much more effective to season before cooking than after), fold the other half of the foil over, and crimp tightly up the sides. You should have something that looks like a pocket, or a pouch open at one end. You can just crimp up the far end and cook it like this, if you want, and it will steam beautifully, but I like to add a bit more seasoning -- some chopped butter or a little drizzle of olive oil, some minced dill or garlic, a sprinkling of sesame seeds, a squeeze of lemon juice. My favorite combination is salt and pepper, lemon juice, and just a smidge of butter.
(Obligatory note: if you are very against cooking with aluminum foil, you can use parchment paper. You'll have to do a lot of folding and stapling and the seal won't be quite as good, but it does work. I don't find it worth the bother, so I take my risks with aluminum.)
Now: crimp up that last side of the packet and put it on a cookie sheet or baking dish. (This vessel is just insurance, so that you don't get asparagus juice all over the inside of your oven if the foil packet leaks. 90% of the time, the foil won't leak, and you'll be able to put the cookie sheet or whatever away without washing. 10% of the time, butter and gunk will drip out, and you'll be really glad you used it.) Put it in the oven and ignore it for a while.
How long a while? It depends how you want your asparagus, and how thick and tough it is. 7-10 minutes will get you asparagus that's warm but still basically raw in texture. 15-ish minutes will get you asparagus in that zone called 'crisp-tender' by people who make up cooking terms. 25-ish minutes will get you increasingly limp asparagus. I like 10 minutes for asparagus I want in salad, 15-ish minutes if I'm going to be eating it with my fingers or tossing it with pasta, and 25-ish minutes if I'm feeling like well-cooked asparagus, which sometimes I do. Mileage may vary. Best way to figure it out is actually to pull the asparagus a little bit before your target temperature, fish out a piece, see how crunchy it is, and, if it's too crunchy, seal the thing up again and pop it in the oven for more cooking, no harm done.
Be aware: asparagus exudes liquid as it cooks. When you open that packet, be careful; it'll be full of hot liquid. If you added butter, oil, lemon, etc., try not to lose that liquid; it makes a great sauce for the asparagus.
Steamed asparagus is great as-is, or tossed with pasta and cheese, or... or probably a bunch of other ways, too, but I love asparagus so much that I never get round to trying other things, because I wind up just eating it with my fingers, in nothing but its own lemon sauce and maybe a small grating of parmesan.
Roasted
Roasting is my favorite method of cooking asparagus that's either thick and tough (particularly older, late-season asparagus) or that has been living in my fridge for too long as has gotten a little limp. It intensifies the flavor of the asparagus, adds a nice brown-caramelized flavor of its own, and softens up the stalks, making more fibrous asparagus considerably easier to chew.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
As before, it's much easier to cut uncooked asparagus than cooked, so unless you're planning on eating the stalks whole, go ahead and cut them up now. Then put them in an oven-safe vessel of some kind -- anything from a casserole to a cookie sheet. (I use my cast-iron pan, but that's because I have an embarrassing love affair with my cast-iron pan. It's one of the cooking implements I will cling to with a white-knuckled death-grip, along with my sharp 8-inch chef's knife and a good wooden spoon.) Salt and pepper the asparagus and drizzle a little vegetable oil over it, and toss to coat. (You don't need much oil, but a little keeps the asparagus from burning and sticking.) I generally don't add a lot of other flavorings at this point; if I want lemon in my roasted asparagus, for instance, I'll add it afterward, mostly because the high heat degrades the flavors of anything delicate like juice or fresh herbs. But some of the hardier seasonings (ground spices, garlic, etc) will do fine in the heat of a roasting oven. If you want something like that, add it and toss again to coat.
Spread the asparagus out in a single layer and put in the oven. I usually cook it for about 15 minutes, but I pull it out halfway to stir it. What you're looking for is for the asparagus to begin to brown and blister, and to feel tender when you poke it with a fork. I generally just go for well-done asparagus with this kind of cooking method, so the exterior will be a little bit crisp from the roasting but it should give when prodded.
Roasted asparagus is also great as-is, or chilled and used in a salad, or scattered on top of other dishes (such as risotto or pasta), or stirred into a pasta sauce.
Sauteed
Asparagus also performs well in a sautee. I usually don't sautee asparagus if I'm going to be eating it on its own -- I prefer either steaming or roasting for that, unless I'm short on time or don't want to turn on the oven -- but it can be sauteed along with other things in a stir-fry, sauce recipe, or for salad. If you want fully-cooked asparagus, you probably don't want to sautee it; I've only ever gotten the asparagus cooked to crisp-tender this way.
Basically, you sautee asparagus just like anything else: a little fat in the pan, let it get hot, add the chopped-up asparagus (don't try whole for this, unless you want to be flipping stalks onto the floor), and toss and cook. It's done when it turns bright green, 3-5 minutes. You can add seasoning as you go -- a little salt, a little pepper, a bit of garlic, a bit of ginger. I usually save the liquids like lemon to the end, though, because if the pan gets too wet you'll wind up steaming or boiling the asparagus instead of sauteeing it.
If you let the asparagus sit against the pan for a minute or two before you start to stir, you can get some browning going.
This is good for adding to sautees and stir-fries (duh), for making into a sauce, or if you want to cook some asparagus really quickly to add to a salad. Or if you want asparagus now and don't want to wait a dozen minutes for it to come out of the oven....
You can also cook asparagus in hot liquid; this is mostly useful for adding to dishes that already are a hot liquid, such as soups and risottos. Just toss it into the hot liquid 3-5 minutes before the whole dish will be done; adding it right at the end prevents it from overcooking. And you can use the above methods in conjunction with other things: for instance, since asparagus reacts well to dry-heat roasting, you can put it on a pizza as a pizza topping. Just add asparagus (chopped up bite-sized, but otherwise unseasoned) at the same time you add the pepperoni or mushrooms or whatever, and bake as normal. Or bake fish in a foil pouch, and add some asparagus along with it, and it'll steam just as nicely as if you'd just put it in on its own. Like that.
(It's a good thing I'm posting this on my lunch break: it's making me hungry.)
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-22 11:17 pm (UTC)Really? But I'm at work...
Seriously though, these sound great!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-23 01:57 am (UTC)Well, obviously that's only a problem for YOUR setup. That suggestion works just fine from here ;->
Grilled Asparagus!! lol
Date: 2008-05-27 02:22 am (UTC)-Skewer cleaned, trimmed spears about an inch from the bottom, several to a skewer, leaving at least a half-inch on either side of the skewer
-Line up the asparagus, and using one hand to hold them flat;
-CAREFULLY stab each spear with a second skewer, about half-way between the bottom skewer, and the tops of the asparagus (don't stab yourself, it hurts)
-Brush the picket fences liberally on each side with the olive oil of your choice, and season lightly (I just used salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning)
-Hand off the laden cookie-sheet to the barbequer of your choice with these instructions: "A few minutes on each side, but don't cook them too long, just until they're all bright green and yummy-looking."
-Wait for the usual holler of, "Is this what you meant?!" to check for doneness. The tips should be partially caramelized, and the stalk still a bit crisp.
-Season again, if necessary (I found it benefitted from some coarse-ground salt)
Can be served by the skewer, picket-fence style, or de-skewered with tongs buffet style.
Now, since this has been on a barbeque, you have permission to eat with your hands, but you could use a knife and fork, if you really think it's necessary :P