Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

The March of Asparagus


Priscilla

Recommended Posts

We like them lightly grilled and wrapped in some prosciutto-type meat; the smokiness plays nicely with the ham. Asparagus, poached eggs, and some shaved parm-reg is one of our favorite light suppers.

"There's nothing like a pork belly to steady the nerves."

Fergus Henderson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I can try... note that I have zero training, so this is just how I do it, not gospel. I also didn't exactly measure the asparagus or the gruyere: you just have to make sure you don't add so much "stuff" that the souffle is too heavy and won't rise. It will still taste good, it just won't be very pretty.

Asparagus Soufflé (Makes 2-3 individual soufflés)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heavily butter 2-3 individual ramekins. Coat inside with bread crumbs or grated parmesan. I like to make sleeves so they rise straight: non-stick aluminum foil or parchment work best (just make a tube that the ramekin fits in and use twine or paperclips to hold its shape). You could skip that for a more "rustic" look.

1 1/2 tbs butter

1 1/2 tbs flour

1/2 cup milk

Salt

Make a bechamel with above proportions and let cool until lukewarm: it will be very thick.

1 shallot

1/2 cup chopped asparagus

1 tbs butter

Salt

Saute until soft. Add to bechamel.

3 egg yolks

pinch black pepper

pinch cayenne

Mix together, then add to bechamel in 3-4 batches, making sure it gets well-incorporated.

Gruyere to taste (I probably added almost a cup of shredded)

Add to bechamel, stirring well to incorporate. Bechamel should not be warm enough to melt cheese. Check the seasoning: it should taste slightly over-seasoned (you are going to add three egg whites to it).

3 egg whites

pinch salt

Beat to stiff (but not dry) peaks. Add about 1/4 of the whites to the bechamel to lighten, then gently fold everything together. Pour into soufflé ramekins: if sleeved, fill 'em up to the brim. If not, leave 1/4-1/2 inch space. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Don't open the oven door at all for the first 20 minutes: they are fragile before then. Eat immediately.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oven roasted asparagus is great. A little olive oil, salt & pepper, rotate them halfway through the cooking time. Then when they're just about done, add some shredded parmesan on top and continue roasting until the cheese is a little melted. I could eat it for days.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally prefer the pure taste of asparagus, but when it is abundant I sometimes need a change of pace. I marinate it for a bit with a squirt of hoisin sauce, splashes of soy and sesame oil and a squeeze of citrus along with some minced garlic or garlic powder. Remove the spears from the marinade and roast at a high temp. The result is like asparagus candy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty boring when it comes to asparagus. Steamed asparagus dipped into soft boiled eggs really does it for me. Or dipped into Japanese mayonaise, the kewpie brand. Mmmm!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hollandaise is lovely, but my favorite asparagus is called "Dutch Asparagus".

For each person, smash one or two hot hard cooked eggs on a warm serving plate. Add salt, pepper, and as much melted butter as the egg will absorb. Use as a dip with hot cooked asparagus spears. Or use a fork, if you're really hungry. A nice lunch all by itself.

I also make soup, casseroles, roasted and serve it the way my mother did: Cook cut spears in salted water, add milk or cream and serve in sauce dishes. A friend told me her mother did green beans this way.

Ruth Dondanville aka "ruthcooks"

“Are you making a statement, or are you making dinner?” Mario Batali

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the best ways to use asparagus is in a risotto. We always look forward to the first Spring crop. In fact, we just had Asparagus Risotto tonight!

The recipe and photo are here http://theromantictable.com/recipe_page.ph...paragus-Risotto

Another very simple way is oven roasted and served tossed with balsamic vinegar, butter and Ziti The recipe is here http://theromantictable.com/recipe_page.ph...Balsamic-Butter

Larry McGourty

TheRomanticTable.com Food and Wine News from the California Central Coast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I try to eat as low carb as I can (usually) and last night had an Asparagus Souffle (flourless) that was awesome ! Base of egg yolks and cream cheese with seasonings, to which was added pureed asparagus (cooked) and shredded cheese (cheddar), folded into the soft peak whites. so good, so easy and adaptable to most anything.............almost foolproof !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tonight I quickly tossed some asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder, and quickly roasted it, then squeezed some meyer lemon over them on the plate.

-- There are infinite variations on food restrictions. --

Crooked Kitchen - my food blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I often make an open face sandwich with crusty bread, mustard, ham, asparagus and gruyere cheese.

Another staple in the spring here is crepes stuffed with asparagus in some sort of creamy sauce (e.g. béchamel, sauce aurore, etc.).

But when we get very fresh asparagus in good quantities from the garden we barely steam them and eat them with nothing else, not even salt. When we buy asparagus we generally add a bit of olive oil and salt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do a simple preparation, cut in half and steam for 5 mins, drain, then place in ice water.

Dip into homemade daengjang or miso. It's kind of like dipping cucumbers and chiles into daengjang - very popular korean banchan.

BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toss with sea salt or kosher salt and evoo. Roast on a rack at 400F for about 20 minutes and you're in heaven.

And I thought I didn't like asparagus... I tried this today and couldn't stop eating.

They were baby asparagus and took only 10 minutes to get "al dente".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

gallery_1890_1967_146028.jpg

Roasted asparagus, poached farm egg and Parmesan cheese

This is one of my favorite ways to eat asparagus [besides steamed with a pat of butter and maybe some lemon or herbs].

Another idea I'm toying with is a warm asparagus salad with bacon and eggs. I think that'll be on the menu this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone tried blanching asparagus in milk? I recently read about how the volatile flavor compounds are leached out into water but stay in the vegetable when cooked in a fatty medium (ie milk). Haven't been able to try as we haven't had any asparagus here in Venezuela lately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the miso-marinated asparagus recipe here - I've made it a couple of times, and it's perfect with a glass of beer in the evening, before you start cooking dinner. It's marinated in miso and doubanjang, so it's got a great hit of salty-spicy. Oh, I think I need to make it again.

I took this picture of drinking snacks ages ago - it's ginger green beans in the front, and the asparagus is the red splotch in the back.

gallery_41378_5233_125082.jpg

I also like to wrap asparagus in bacon or thinly sliced pork, pan-fry it with some sesame oil and shichimi togarashi, and serve it as a side dish or stuck in a bento. It's a common Japanese preparation whose name escapes me at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cut into 1 1/2 inch or so chunks, blanch or steam until crisp-tender, and douse in ice water; drain. Boil fresh English or small green peas for about 2 minutes and treat the same way. Toss cold veggies in a viniagrette of your choosing (I generally use red wine vinegar and EVOO, but balsamic or lemon juice will work, serve over sliced tomatos and top with grated Parmesan. I've added any number of things to this -- sliced mushrooms, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, diced cooked chicken, water chestnuts, shrimp, depending on what I had and whether I wanted a side salad or a light entree.

The other is a sandwich on good crusty sourdough, with roasted asparagus, the cheese of your choice, shaved ham or pepper roast beef, and Dijon mustard.

Sauteed in a little EVOO and finished with a shot of sesame oil and soy sauce and a bare sprinkle of sugar. (Green beans and broccoli are both good like this, too.)

Steamed and topped with melted butter and a sprinkle of tarragon.

Steamed and drizzled with hollandaise or orange dijon sauce.

I don't recall that I've ever met an asparagus spear I didn't love.

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A pasta carbonara with asparagus, mushrooms, Parmesan, and Marsala. I posted the recipe elsewhere on EGullet, Post #6: here.

gallery_50011_5244_207045.jpg

OMG this looks SO good. Might have to make a smaller version of this tonight!

I'm hauling in a lot of asparagus out of the garden right now. It's a little late, but we had a really long winter with several late freezes and snow storms.

I like to blanch the asparagus and wrap it in puff pastry along with some ham, cheese and a dash of mustard. I bake it until it's crispy and gooey. Sometimes I make a light bechamel sauce to go over the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is my recipe for an asparagus appetizer, "Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus with Honeydew Sorbet."

gallery_41580_4407_1549.jpg

Honeydew Sorbet

2 cups chopped honeydew melon

1 cup simple syrup

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup Midori melon liquer (substitute with Vodka)

Mint leaves for garnish

Simple Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Make the simple syrup first. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mint leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook syrup for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and strain syrup into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until ready to use.

Place melon, syrup, mint leaves and lemon juice in a blender. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain puree into a bowl. Add Midori liquer, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Pour melon puree into ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes. Keep sorbet frozen in freezer until service.

Asparagus

8 spears of asparagus, peeled

4 slices prosciutto, cut in half

1 tbsp. olive oil

Heat 1 quart of water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add asparagus and blanch until just tender, about 3 minutes. Remove asparagus and drain on paper towels. Let asparagus cool to room temperature.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Brush skillet with a little olive oil. Add prosciutto slices and saute until just crisp, about 30 seconds. Turn prosciutto over and sauté another 30 seconds. Remove prosciutto from skillet and blot off fat with a paper towel.

To serve, wrap each asparagus spear with a slice of prosciutto.

Place a scoop of melon sorbet in a large martini glass or in a large soup bowl. Add two spears of asparagus on either side of sorbet. Garnish sorbet with a mint sprig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have pics uploaded to this computer, so I can't post them here, but they are available on my site, but recently, I made the weirdest dish Ive ever made.

Popcorn, then tossed with grilled asparagus, sliced garlic, wilted nettles, and some other stuff, sprinkled with cayenne and some salt. Tossed with olive oil.

This was something we created in our last cooking class when I was in New York.

It didn't suck, but it's not normally how I think about making popcorn!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...