Cooking Asparagus

Hi guys

Today is son's b'day and he loves asparagus. In all my many years of cooking, I've never made asparagus.

I have fresh asparagus for tonight's dinner, and know I can look up recipes but wondered if ya'll ever make it and if so, how?

I make asparagus a lot and here are my three favorite ways:

Wash them and cut at least a half inch off the bottom.

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick foil and put them in a single layer, spray with an olive oil mister and then grind tons of pepper on it (I use a pepper blend with allspice) and sprinkle some sea salt (I use pink himalayan). Put in oven at 400-425 degrees until the flowering end starts to turn just a little brown and they start looking a little wrinkly.

SEcond is the same ingredients but put on a wire rack and throw on the grill.

Third, in a fry pan with butter and saute them till as soft as desired. I like a little crunch still.

Ana

I get about 20 lbs every year from our asparagus patch! I have grilled it with olive oil and seasonings, oven baked it with the same and made it with a light sauce. But my favorite is lightly steamed with real butter and a bit of salt and pepper.

If you got it from the grocery store, the bottom of the stalks are probably tough. You can peel the bottom part of the stalks if they are really tough. If you slice the stalks into 1 or 2 inch pieces, you can tell when you get to the tough inedible parts. I just steam for about 3 or 4 minutes until the asparagus is tender/crisp and add butter and salt and pepper. I usually cut off the tender tops and don't add them until the last 60 seconds or so of cooking.

I'm ready to see my little stalks peeking up out of the ground soon. Sounds like we think alike on our asparagus, Ana!

My favorite way, and healthy way is this :

Cut the bottoms....place them on tin foil drizzle lemon juice, and some balsamic vinegar on them, add some ground pepper... Cover them up with the foil, and place in the broiler part of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes....0r until slightly tender.....You can also bake them at 350 degrees.. <Yum>

I do as Drac does. I have an asparagus steamer to make it easy! I am definitely going to try the olive oil in oven method...sounds great!

Thanks guys, I'll try baking them tonight as I don't have a steamer and let you know.

I'm definitely going to try Darleen's method too. C'mon, little sprouts!

Drac.. You might like this one also...

Put 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan or wok...Add sesame seeds, plus chopped garlic...Saute that for about 5 minutes...Careful not to let anything burn...

Boil water for your asparagus.. Boil until they are slightly blanched,,drain in cold water...Then toss them in the olive oil mixture... Very tasty, you can do the same with whole green beans... GREAT..Taste.

This is my favorite way;

Wash them and cut at least a half inch off the bottom.

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick foil and put them in a single layer, spray with an olive oil mister and then grind tons of pepper on it (I use a pepper blend with allspice) and sprinkle some sea salt.

Then wrap them in foil, put them in a black draw string bag, carry them out to the trash, throw them in, and let them stew.

While they are stewing, go back in the house and heat the oven to 400 degrees, put in a pizza and enjoy your meal.

"Respect Vegetables Don't Eat Them"

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

joe

Joe!

Joe, that is great!

The asparagus was a hit. I combined Ana's and Dar's . We all liked it. Now I just have to figure out how long it actually needs to cook.

Thanks guys

Enjoy L4L!

I like Joe's recipe for Asparagus best!!

Good one, Joe! Sounds like it was a hit, L4L!

Joe... I Love It

Remember not to worry about the fact that eating asparagus makes your pee smell funny!

That's very true Lex!

"Funny" is an interesting way to put it. I rather think of something has crawled away to die! The chemistry behind this phenomenon is actually kind of interesting.

Luv asparagus, eat it fairly often in and out of season, usually steam it lighly, have never noticed my pee smelling oddly after eating it - AND here is one way to serve and eat it none of you has mentioned = after all these years of enjoying asparagus someone asked me "have you ever tried it raw?" and my answer was no, but now I have and it is a GREAT raw veggie served alongside broccolli and cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, carrot and celery sticks etc. YUM
Love, Betty Lou
P.S. AND, since my dog Moonbeam loves veggies, raw or cooked raw asparagus makes a great treat for her - just not too much all at once, too much fiber. She loves it!

I eat it raw out of the patch all the time, Betty Lou! I figure the asparagus picker ought to get the choicest tender spears to eat right on the spot! This is an interesting little paragraph from WebMD. It appears some people don't have the gene that lets you smell it!

WebMD

I have the gene Drac.

I used to make pickled asparagus. Marinated it in Italian salad dressing and a few other 'secret' ingredients. Put in fridge overnight and YUM the next day. Now I'm hungry. Going out to buy some asparagus!

Same here, Ana. Sometime I'll forget that ate asparagus and wonder who died!

Sorta, I'll trade you my first-born for those "secret" ingredients! That sounds so good right now.

You never know what you are going to learn here at GB!! I guess I don't have this gene as I have never been aware of this phenomena!! Joe, you are waay too funny!!!

OK Drac, here goes (but I really don't need your first born. Way too much trouble for me)Ha.

Choose a MILD Italian clear dressing. I like to use powered mix so I can regulate the vinegar and oil amounts. Add just a bit of Malt Vinegar (the kind you use on fish and chips), a dollop of Olive Oil, some parsley flakes (or FRESH if you have it). Blanch the asparagus if it's too crunchy (I like it crunchy) and put in a dish and cover with all the secret stuff. Let stand overnight in the fridge. Then drain the next day and enjoy. I like to grind a tiny bit of fresh pepper over it before munching. AND if you are really into cheese, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top is awesome.

You can also do this on a quick basis with canned asparagus, but it has to be the BEST brand available or it just doesn't taste good. Drain first then add all the good stuff.

I think - after munching on my first spears right out of the ground - that's the first way I'm going to do some asparagus, Sorta. That sounds so, so good. Like I said, we usually get about 20 lbs of asparagus from our patch every year and you have to get creative in how you fix it.

In Germany, "spargel" is grown under mounds of sand and is white. They have an entire spargel season complete with spargelfests. If you are very, very lucky, you know a spargel grower and can get it fresh. Our German family sends us pictures of their first spargle meal every spring which is usually served with boiled potatoes and bratwurst.

Well, I am so delighted to have 'found' this thread - was out and about with a neighbor yesterday, stopped at a grocery while she was in pet store and I spotted asparagus, nice thin stalked spears, for $1.99/lb, bought 2 pounds and from all this discussion decided to try this = washed spears (of course) and snapped off tough stems, threw away a few too spongy to snap and saved rest for dog treats, she can chew the tough stem where I can't - placed all 2 pounds into aluminum foil and sprinkled with olive oil, several whole cloves of garlic, sealed it up and placed it into my 350 degree oven alongside my foil wrapped pork tenderloin roast and baked it all for an hour. Was it ever GREAT! not too mushy, smelled like heaven and was so good there isn't but 2 or 3 spears left - son ate two helpings alongside my turnips/onions/garlic and chopped greens with whole wheat noodles, garlic, tomato sauce and Pace Picante sauce thrown in...had some BBQ sauce on the pork. Great meal and easy to make, no pots to wash.
Love, BJ

That sounds absolutely heavenly, Betty Lou!

Joe, you have the best recipe. I hate asparagus!

MMMM good Betty Lou!

I too love Joes way lololol ...here is how I make mine btw Im making mine tonight,
#1) boil asparagus in lightly salted water and then its up to you how you wish to serve it ..((((((sauce, oil and garlic, roasted in oven in aluminum foil or on the stove in a pan, together with speghetti)))))) .....
#2) serve it with a sauce or seasoning I brown my garlic with pure Olive Oil about enough oil to cover the pan.....and btw I love Garlic, I use I/2 of the clove for 1 bunch.... then pour over the asparagus or....
#3) use it in the preparation of another dish, for example a risotto, or chop up whatever asparagus you have left in scrambled eggs for breakfast...nothing gets wasted in my house

ah, but the point to baking it in foil in the oven is to skip that boil first step and if using the oven to roast something else to serve with it - it cooks at the same time as your other item/s and does not get all limp and soggy - use whatever oils, condiments, sauces on it you like and no messy pans to clean afterwards. We sure enjoy it. If I were younger, had a larger yard and could then put in a garden I would be growing a lot of my own produce including asparagus, beets, turnips, rutabega, sweet potatoes and LOTS more....ah, those were the days!
Anyone ever used a dehydrator? Would love to make my own veggie "chips"
Love, Betty Lou

Oh I forgot fried asparagus. Yummmm. I do it with bacon grease and some Hidden Valley powder sprinkled on. Yummmmmmy! Gotta go shopping now to find some. Have the bacon.

Has anyone tried dehydrating asparagus? Does it taste good that way? Would you cook it first (steam?) or do it raw?
Love, Betty Lou

I've never tried it. I didn't have much luck with freezing it as it became complete mush when I cooked it.

Had to put in my 1.5 cents on this one as we love that silly looking veggie

The way we usually make it is combined with cremini mushrooms (baby ports) and saute with some olive oil, minced garlic and a little thyme. I just heat up a little oil in the pan, throw in the asparagus, move it around to coat with the oil, then carefully put a couple tablespoons of water in the pan and cover for a minute or so (steams it a bit). Then we add the garlic and thyme and give it another minute, then add some sliced baby portabellas. Turn down the heat, cover and cook until the asparagus is still crisp, but easy to pierce or cut. We like to keep the mushrooms and the asparagus a little more on the firm side.

TM

Trail, I am officially going out to my asparagus patch and giving the plants gentle encouragement to simply ignore the 8" of snow on top of them and get busy!! That sounds wonderful.

Had to resurrect this thread when I got this in an email from Mrs. Wages Seasoning Mixes this morning.

Broiled Asparagus Rolls

30 slices deli-sliced ham
12 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into 1-inch x 3-inch pieces (30 pieces)
30 asparagus spears (about 1 lb), trimmed to 7-inch spears

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with foil.
Pat ham dry. Place 1 piece of cheese onto slice of ham; center an asparagus spear on cheese so that both ends are exposed. Roll up each ham slice tightly; secure with toothpicks if needed.
Place spears into prepared pan. Broil on high for 6-8 minutes or until ham is crisp. Allow to cool 2 minutes before arranging on a serving platter.

That sounds really good, Drac!

That does sound good!

That does sound very good .. note to WOM .. we should try this too

This sounds yummy-delicious!!! Gotta try!! Thank you Drac!!