I pulled the leaf mulch back from my asparagus beds this morning and there beneath the mulch was a single slender spear sticking up its little white head! Now to go dig out my asparagus recipes, as once I can start harvesting we'll be eating asparagus every night.
If anyone has a good seasonal (that is, all the main ingredients are in season together) asparagus recipe, I'd love to have it! You can email me the recipe (there's a link to my email in my profile) or if you've got it on your blog, leave me a comment or shoot me an email with the URL and I'll update this post to link to it and give you credit. I also promise to try all recipes (or as many as humanly possible) and report back.
Anyone else have an asparagus report?
Val
ReplyDeleteWish I did, glad you reminded me I want to put in a bed this year, have to google that. We just dress it with olive oil, Parmesan, and lemon zest, yum.
My asparagus report comes from Bigg's (I've got nowhere to plant vegetables, unfortunately), where the tasty stalks continue at their winter price of $2.99 a pound! I've been waiting for asparagus season for a while, so this makes me very sad. Hopefully your little stalk is the forerunner to bumper crops of 99-cent asparagus on store shelves.
ReplyDeleteBesides the old standby of roasted asparagus, I like to make a tart brimming with spring vegetables: roll out and prebake a puff pastry crust, top with a heaping cup of fromage blanc or ricotta, top with a mixture of lightly sauteed sliced asparagus, shelling peas, and basil. Add S&P and a sprinkling of shredded hard salty cheese (and perhaps some grated lemon zest or other herbs). Bake for another 10-15 minutes and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYum! Gotta love perennials. My standard approach is to keep it simple: grilled on the bbq with olive oil, salt & pepper, and sometimes balsamic. I prefer the stalks when they're thin.
ReplyDeleteLucky Val! My asparagus appears to ahve given up the ghost this year. I had it in a spot it didn't like?
ReplyDeleteBalsamic vinegar, olive oil, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Put under broiler until tips are just a tiny bit crispy. Mmmmmm...
The favorite way to eat asparagus at our house is roasted with olive oil and sea salt. And we always eat them with our fingers.
ReplyDeleteEden, don't give up hope yet! I have only this one little sprout up! Maybe in the next few days, you'll see something!
ReplyDeleteThis is our favorite way to prepare them: Toss with a Tablespoon or two of Sesame Oil, a teaspoon (more or less) of red chili flakes, and a teaspoon of salt. Then either Grill, roast or my favorite, broil.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit decadent but asparagus is really tasty wrapped with a bit of prosciutto and roasted. I also love it in a creamy risotto with mushrooms...yum! This is a pretty good recipe from Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=98504df186338110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=asparagus%20risotto&rsc=header_1
ReplyDeleteAsparagus ALL ways is good. But my new favorite late-asparagus season dish is pasta tossed with sauteed asparagus, spring onions, dried chili pepper, and salt. After it's cooked mix it in a bowl with lemon juice, chopped baby basil, and grated Romano cheese. Then toss it with the pasta. While you're doing all that reduce some balsamic vinegar then drizzle it over the tossed pasta and top with some more grated Romano. YUM. It's sooo good.
ReplyDeleteWow, these are great! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJen, I saw that you posted the complete recipe for your tart on your blog, it looks great.
Jessie, I don't know why these long URLs just get truncated in blogger's comments. Here's the link Jessie posted (it showed up complete in my inbox): Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
I ALWAYS roast my asparagus. The best part is when my pee smells funny. Don't act modest, everyone knows that it causes stinky pee!
ReplyDeleteCin Twin, did you know that the stinky pee thing is caused by a gene only some people have -- not everyone's pee smells funny after asparagus. To make it even more interesting, not everyone has the gene for detecting the smell, either!
ReplyDeleteI have both genes. :D
Hi Valeree!
ReplyDeleteOur family favorite, and mostly local recipe, is to simply blanche them in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and serve with homemade hollandaise sauce made with our pastured eggs and homemade butter from our neighbor's raw milk! YUM - YUM!
I like blanching them for a minute of two than quick cooling and than they go on a bed of our spring mix with some scallions or chives and dressed with a simple vinegrette-1/2 cup of a mix of balsamic and rice vinegar, a pinch of kosher or sea salt, a bit of garlic powder or if I still have it, mashed fresh garlic (I will this year!) and than 1.5 cups of olive oil. Dried oregano and basil is also nice in the dressing.
ReplyDeleteLMAO about the pee thing. This now explains something that puzzled me for years: Why my ex would talk incessantly about the intense smell of her "asparagus pee" and I never noticed one single thing. Apparently I'm missing both genes!
ReplyDeleteAnd planting asparagus is on my long-term wish list for my garden, but for now I'll just need to find it - LOCALLY and SEASONALLY - where I can.