Spring Asparagus is here! How are you going to cook it?

Okanagancook · April 23, 2015

Over on the dinner thread we had a little flurry of activity on the subject of asparagus. Well, we have the Armstrong asparagus ready here in the Okanagan. I just bought two bags full. Some pencil thin and some nice and fat. They are always shipped in boxes so they are lying down and as you can see from the photo, some of the tops are a little bit bent but the heads are tight. Armstrong is about 100 kilometres from here. It just arrived according to the store.

I am going to make a salad with some of the big ones, dressed with a tangerine and pistachio vinaigrette from The New Spanish Table. For dinner I'm looking for a recipe with scallops or shrimp to go with the asparagus and some ricotta dumplings I have in the freezer.

What is your favourite way of eating asparagus?

Paul Bacino · April 23, 2015

Pan Fry carbon steel/ little butter/ fresh squeeze of lemon/ pink flake salt/ pepper

My bed is just showing up and most of what I got last night was less 6"

WE got about 10 small stocks. .I put in 3 yr root stock and I'm @ yr two.. so expect once we start warming to have some decent amount

**ElsieD** · April 23, 2015

I like to coat asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it in a hot oven. I may give it a sprinkle of balsamic, sometimes a bit of Parmesan. Nothing more. When we had our house, I would give them the same treatment except I would cook them on the BBQ.

kayb · April 23, 2015

I'm good with both those methods, plus occasionally steaming them just barely crisp-tender and serving with Hollandaise. But one of my favorites is to wrap in proscuitto and bake. Yum!

Chelseabun · April 23, 2015

Has anyone tried hop asparagus? It is supposed to be the world's most expensive vegetable but I have never come across it to purchase! I have some hop plants in my yard this year. Any cooking tips (pardon the pun) would be appreciated!

Edited April 23, 2015 by Chelseabun (log)

Paul Bacino · April 23, 2015

Hop Asparagus:

http://chopandbrew.com/lagniappe/hop-asparagus-cooking-hop-shoots/

gulfporter · April 23, 2015

Toss in olive oil with s&p; GRILL over high heat to get grillmarks outside, still crispy inside. Remove from grill and give it another shot of olive oil and a bit of fresh lemon juice and a shave of lemon peel.

huiray · April 24, 2015

...For dinner I'm looking for a recipe with scallops or shrimp to go with the asparagus ...

How about something like this? (scroll down just a bit) :-)

(keep the ricotta dumplings for another time)

Or this, which is what I did the last time I had asparagus...i.e. flash stir-fry/sauté, in a very hot pan, very quickly.

I like my asparagus crunchy.

Edited April 24, 2015 by huiray (log)

Shalmanese · April 24, 2015

I really like David Chang's Miso butter asparagus. Super simple and great for a crowd. One of my favorite spring potluck dishes is a massive platter of asparagus with some sous vide poached eggs on top. Just burst the yolks before serving and it's a visually stunning dish that barely takes any effort to prepare.

liuzhou · April 24, 2015

Many years ago, in Frederick's restaurant in Camden Passage, Islington, London, I ate asparagus spears individually wrapped in filo pastry and roasted/baked. The crunch of the pastry went well with the still slightly crisp asparagus. A memorable dish.

I've never attempted to cook it, though.

Edited April 24, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

radtek · April 24, 2015

I like it steamed with a mustard vinaigrette. Or with S&P with a squeeze of lemon. I like the little ones.

Okanagancook · April 24, 2015

How about something like this? (scroll down just a bit) :-)
(keep the ricotta dumplings for another time)
Or this, which is what I did the last time I had asparagus...i.e. flash stir-fry/sauté, in a very hot pan, very quickly.
I like my asparagus crunchy.

Thanks Huiray, both dishes look good especially the andouille with asparagus.

Okanagancook · April 24, 2015

Many years ago, in Frederick's restaurant in Camden Passage, Islington, London, I ate asparagus spears individually wrapped in filo pastry and roasted/baked. The crunch of the pastry went well with the still slightly crisp asparagus. A memorable dish.

I've never attempted to cook it, though.

I really like the sound of those. Probably messy to eat with crumbs of filo shattering as one bites into it. Wonder if a thin strip if prosciutto wrapped around the asparagus before the filo would work? Or perhaps put the meat on the outside.

liuzhou · April 24, 2015

Probably messy to eat with crumbs of filo shattering as one bites into it.

That's the best part!

Beebs · April 24, 2015

Grilled or roasted and dipped in Japanese kewpie mayo and/or sprinkled with shichimi togarashi (chili spice mix).

Ashen · April 24, 2015

dry grilled over lump on the grill, then dressed simply with good EVOO, lemon juice, lemon zest and S+P I make extra to put in the fridge for anytime snacking or even in a sandwich. Can't wait til the season starts here.

gulfporter · April 24, 2015

My DH likes his asparagus topped with either a poached egg or diced hard boiled egg, and some shaved Parm and (sometimes) diced prosciutto. It's a meal for him, not a side.

**Shelby** · April 24, 2015

When the asparagus is ready to pick here our favorite way is to just simply steam them with some butter and salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon.

Usually once a week I blanch a bunch, wrap it in ham, cheese and puff pastry and bake it. To go with we do an egg and maybe some hollandaise sauce.

I just went out and snapped a pic of part of the asparagus bed.

Okanagancook · April 24, 2015

Emeril's lemon pepper dressing with fresh greens and cajun shrimp.

**ElsieD** · April 24, 2015

Usually once a week I blanch a bunch, wrap it in ham, cheese and puff pastry and bake it. To go with we do an egg and maybe some hollandaise sauce.

Shelby, this sounds good. Do you add anything for to this, such as mustard or is it that it? What kind of cheese do you use? I'm thinking Gruyere might be nice but I don't see it "wrapping" that easily.

**Shelby** · April 24, 2015

Usually once a week I blanch a bunch, wrap it in ham, cheese and puff pastry and bake it. To go with we do an egg and maybe some hollandaise sauce.

Shelby, this sounds good. Do you add anything for to this, such as mustard or is it that it? What kind of cheese do you use? I'm thinking Gruyere might be nice but I don't see it "wrapping" that easily.

Elsie, I do add mustard. Forgot to type that! A dijon goes well. I'm not picky, I like all kinds of cheese with it. Last week I did a sharp cheddar. Gruyere would be wonderful.

cyalexa · April 25, 2015

However I make it (something with eggs most common), I collect the snapped off bottoms in the freezer. When I have about a pound I make asparagus pesto, one of my all-time favorite dishes.

daveb · April 26, 2015

My favorite is quick blanch and grill, though sometimes steamed. Serve warm or at room temp. For lunch or dinner though breakfast works. Like Asian or tradional dressing. Spears facing right or perhaps left.

Traditional salad