Asparagus are in season in some parts of the US. Here in New York, they are the cheapest (about $2.99 a pound) they'll be all year. According to a few of your comments about side dishes to go with Easter ham, asparagus are high up on the list.
We agree. And while we usually roast our asparagus with a little olive oil and salt, we're thinking about the fresh, bright green color we get when we blanch and chill them. Another benefit of serving asparagus cold? You can make them ahead of time.
On a side note: Did you know asparagus are part of the lily family? How Easter-appropriate!
Click below for serving suggestions.
First, we trim the stalks, then boil the asparagus in a large sauté pan for a few minutes, until they are bright green and just tender. If you are using super skinny asparagus, see our tip for blanching them in a baking dish.
Then, technically, we should stop the cooking in an ice bath. But we find running them under very cold water works just fine. Pat them dry, wrap in a paper towel, stick in a plastic bag, and store in the fridge.
As for serving them, we like to sprinkle our asparagus with Kosher salt and drizzle on a good balsamic vinaigrette (a simple, syrupy balsamic vinegar is good, too) or homemade hollandaise sauce.
We also just found this streamlined recipe for Hollandaise sauce in a copy of Saveur. (See photo above.) We think we may try this sometime over the weekend, and the addition of Tabasco makes it sound intriguing!
• Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce
Happy Easter eating...
More Asparagus...
• Virtual CSA Box: Asparagus
• Recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg and Parmesan
• How to Blanch Asparagus
(Photo: Andre Baranowski for Saveur)
That's so funny! There was a cruiser at the bar yesterday and he was passing out bags of what I thought were asparagus to the waitresses. Then, I realized they were Lily's that hadn't opened yet.
No lily's for me. I didn't qualify.
A delicious chilled/room temperature asparagus dish that I think is very Eastery is something like this:
-Blanched and chilled asparagus sprigs (white, green and wild) depending on what you can get.
-Toss the asparagus in olive oil and salt and pepper and lay on a nice rectangular serving platter.
-Prepare a nice bunch of tender frissee leaves and toss them with a creamy, lemony vinaigrette.
-Perch a little nest of the frissee on the center of the asparagus bunch.
-Sieve some Easter eggs and spread them all over the dish.
-Toast some breadcrumbs in olive oil, season them and spread those over the dish.
-Slice some fresh hearts of palm and spread those over the dish.
-Drizzle more of the vinaigrette around if you wish.
-A little white truffle oil would not hurt the situation.
-When you serve, lay a few sprigs of asparagus along with a little bit of all the other ingredients.
view art's profile
Grrrr, we are getting a big snowstorm tonight and I forgot the asparagus from the store last night!! SHOOT! That's what I get for trying to beat the Easter/storm crowd that would've shopped this morning and not making a list before I left last night!
I didn't know you could cook it ahead of time and store it! Though I guess I should've figured that out, since I often blanch it, then marinate it and eat it cold.
I do add cayenne or tabasco to my hollandaise sauce, adds a very subtle kick that I enjoy.
Lately if I don't marinate it, I am fond of roasting for a few minutes with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper, and serving with a balsamic reduction (1 cup balsamic vinegar brought to a boil, then simmered around 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.) with parmesan shavings--pretty much what you posted. I am so craving asparagus now! Thanks for the tips and recipes!
view bobcatsteph3's profile
When it was $1.89 the other week, I got myself some. I like it hot with butter or cold with a soy/sushi vinegar/toasted sesame oil/sambal mix - sometimes with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
Also just steamed it and mixed it with a nice shitake and onion sautee on top of some brown rice.
I grew up in a place where they grow asparagus and it is a nostalgic-home thing. I love it when you can get tiny thin asparagus early in the spring.
view sciencegeek's profile
LOL at the comment about lilies... my boyfriend's mother was at the store buying a bouquet of daffodils (unopened), and then man in line behind her asked what kind of vegetable that was. When she told him they were flowers, he said, "oh, so you wait until the ground thaws and then stick them in there?"
I'm jealous of you folks with your in-season asparagus... we still have so much snow on the ground here!
view SisterRae's profile