There are many ways to eat asparagus. You can serve them hot, cold, raw or cooked. You can use them to enrich a main dish or as a side dish. You can add them to soups, salads, stews or stir-fry them with other vegetables, but you can also simply serve them on their own. Read on to learn how to choose and store this versatile vegetable.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Choosing and Storing Asparagus
Step 1. Buy asparagus from the greengrocer or market
Fresh asparagus is a luxury vegetable and the price tends to confirm this. You can find them fresh, frozen or canned. If you want to buy them fresh, choose those with bright green or purple tips. The tops of the asparagus must be straight, firm, uniform in size and free of inflorescences. The ideal is to buy them the same day you intend to eat them.
- The stems of asparagus can be of various sizes: thin, thick or medium. Some people prefer one variety over another, but size generally doesn't affect quality or flavor. Asparagus with thicker stems are more mature, while thin ones are younger. Thick asparagus is generally harder and woody at the base, so most people strip off the lower ends before cooking.
- Asparagus spoils quickly, so you should make sure it has been stored in the refrigerator. Don't buy them if they haven't been kept cool, or they may spoil faster.
Step 2. Know when to buy fresh asparagus
They are one of the first green vegetables that are born at the end of winter. The first fruits appear on the stalls of greengrocers in February, but the best time to eat them, and to buy them since the price is lower, is that of April and May. Frozen or canned asparagus is available all year round, but many people consider fresh asparagus a real delicacy.
Step 3. Store the asparagus in the refrigerator or on ice
Use them within 2-3 days of purchasing them, preferably as soon as possible. If you need to keep them for a day or two, the best method is to soak the stems vertically in cold water like flowers. You can use a boule, a jar or even a vase. Alternatively, you can wrap them in a few damp sheets of kitchen paper, place them in a food bag and store them in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Step 4. If you want, you can blanch the asparagus and then freeze it
This will block the enzymes that cause them to break down. This technique also works with other vegetables and allows you to preserve their flavor, color and crunchiness. Blanching the asparagus before putting them in the freezer also serves to eliminate soil residues, to slow down the decline in vitamins and to make them softer, facilitating their packaging.
Step 5. Try planting asparagus in the garden
You can start growing using seeds or you can plant the buds directly for faster results. Once adult, the plant will produce new asparagus every spring for 12-25 years.
Part 2 of 3: Main Cooking Methods
Step 1. Steam the asparagus
Remove the base of the stems if they are thick. Wash them with cold water. Once ready, pour a few inches of water into a pot, place the steamer basket and check that it does not come into contact with the water below. At this point, place the asparagus in the basket and bring the water to a boil. Let the steam cook them until they are soft or to the consistency of your choice.
- You can serve steamed, baked or grilled asparagus as an appetizer at dinner, if you like with melted butter or homemade hollandaise sauce. You can eat them with a fork, but also with your hands.
- Steaming asparagus becomes softer and moister, so some may find it unappetizing. You can make them tastier by using salt and other seasonings of your choice. However, remember that while they are very healthy, adding tons of salt or sauces will compromise your health benefits.
Step 2. Grill the asparagus on the barbecue
Remove the base of the stems if they are thick. Wash them with cold water. Prepare a "pan" with foil in which to arrange the asparagus; the sides must be high enough to contain the seasoning and cooking juices. Grease the bottom of the "pan" of foil with 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, then arrange the asparagus in an orderly manner. Place the "pan" on the barbecue and cook them over medium heat until they reach the consistency of your choice.
- By cooking them on the barbecue, the asparagus tends to become harder, but still retains all its juices. Best of all, they also retain nutrients that are good for your health!
- This cooking method is really simple, but the resulting dish is incredibly tasty. It's perfect for times when you don't feel like venturing into complicated recipes.
Step 3. Cook them on the grill.
Clean the asparagus by removing the base of the stems, then season them with a little extra virgin olive oil and the spices you prefer. It is best to mix them in a bowl to evenly distribute the seasonings. Once ready, arrange them on the hot plate; it is better to use a ribbed one, but a smooth cast iron plate is fine too. Cook them over medium heat until they are scorched on the underside (this will take 1-2 minutes), then flip them over and brown the other sides as well. Serve hot.
Step 4. Roast the asparagus in the oven
Vegetables cooked in the oven acquire an even richer flavor, which is why the following recipe is one of the most popular. Wash them and cut them at the base, if necessary peeling even the most woody stems, then pat them with a clean kitchen towel to dry them. Available neatly in a baking dish and grease them with a drizzle of oil. Turn them upside down to season them evenly. Add salt and freshly ground pepper, then bake them in the oven at 220 ° C for 10-15 minutes.
- You can use baked asparagus to make risotto or a creamy pasta sauce. You can also serve them as a side dish accompanying them with both meat and fish.
- Consider adding a couple of garlic cloves and a sprinkle of grated lemon zest. Those with a sweet tooth can also sprinkle them with melted butter and parmesan or mozzarella.
- Once ready, you can slice them finely and spread them over the baked pasta if you want along with some diced bacon.
Step 5. Cook the asparagus in the pan.
Cut them into pieces about 5 cm long. Do the same with an eggplant or two and a piece of pumpkin. Place all the vegetables in the pan and cook them over medium-low heat. Season generously with salt and pepper, then add some tomato sauce. Let the ingredients cook for 5-10 minutes, then taste to see if they have reached the consistency you prefer. The cooking time can vary according to your tastes.
These vegetables cooked in a pan with tomato sauce make a great sauce for pasta
Part 3 of 3: Alternative Cooking Methods
Step 1. Blanch the asparagus
Boil them in a pot filled with boiling water for 3-5 minutes, depending on the diameter. When the stems are tender and bright green, transfer the asparagus to a bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes to stop the cooking process. Leave them immersed in frozen water for the same boiling time. Drain them using a colander or kitchen towel.
- Serve the blanched asparagus as a complementary ingredient to a salad or on their own, after seasoning them to your taste. To prepare a simple but tasty dish, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some salt flakes.
- Blanching asparagus if you need to preserve it is an excellent choice. If you are blanching them in advance or are planning to take them to a picnic, wrap them in kitchen paper and place them in a grocery bag.
Step 2. Saute the asparagus in the pan
Often recipes like this include a wide variety of vegetables, and it's not unusual for asparagus to be part of the mix. You can add them to any combination, as long as they go well with the other ingredients.
If you have fussy children, adding asparagus to a combination of other vegetables can be a good way to get them to eat. You can also add some chopped chicken and potatoes, they probably won't even notice it's there
Step 3. Wrap them in bacon.
Roll a slice of bacon around some asparagus. Arrange them neatly in the pan and add a fairly generous amount of oil. Brown the wrapped asparagus for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a serving dish. Be careful not to burn the bacon, but at the same time make sure it becomes crunchy. Be prepared to clean the dishes with a little elbow grease to get rid of the fat released during cooking.
Step 4. Make a cream of asparagus
It is an elegant dish, which can be served as an appetizer or as a first course. It will be ready in just 50 minutes. This soup is full-bodied enough to be served as a main dish, but it can also be a side dish. The following doses are for 4 people.
- Cut the tops of 12 asparagus, 4 cm from the tip, then divide them perpendicularly in half if they are thick. Save them to decorate the cream.
- Cut the remaining pieces into pieces about 1 cm long.
- Chop a large onion and fry it in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Wait for it to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the asparagus pieces and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté them together with the onion for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add 1.2 l of broth and let it simmer over low heat, with the covered pot, for 15-20 minutes or until the asparagus becomes very soft.
- While the soup simmers, boil the asparagus tops in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes. Drain them as soon as they have softened.
- Blend the soup in a blender until smooth. At that point, transfer it back to the pot. Add crème fraîche and more broth to dilute the cream, if you think it's necessary. Season it with salt and pepper, bring it to a boil and add a tablespoon of butter, then stir to help it melt.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and decorate with the asparagus tips. Serve the soup with warm croutons.
Step 5. Add them to an egg recipe
Cut the asparagus into small pieces and mix them with the scrambled eggs. If you have a cast iron skillet, try making an omelette with asparagus in the oven. You can also indulge yourself by cooking a quiche stuffed with asparagus, leeks and cheese or a quiche with asparagus and zucchini.
Step 6. Try them raw
It might seem like a weird idea, but it's a simple and effective way to get all the nutrients. You can eat raw asparagus as a snack or add them to a salad, in the latter case just cut them into small pieces and serve them with lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes and any other ingredient that pleases your palate. You can make a light vinaigrette as a condiment.
Step 7. Add them to a smoothie
Simply mix 1-2 asparagus into a fruit smoothie. You can blend them or put them whole in the glass, also using them as a decoration.
Advice
- Remove the woody ends with the knife. If necessary, you can also peel the end of the stem with a vegetable peeler, removing any filaments.
- Adding too many seasonings or salt to asparagus seriously interferes with the health benefits.
- If possible, buy asparagus at the local produce market. They will be fresher and you will avoid sustaining a food system that ships asparagus around the world.
- Don't add too much butter, especially if you want diners to eat asparagus with their hands. Otherwise, your clothes could easily get dirty.
- Try to eat asparagus in the spring. When they are in season, they are more likely to be freshly picked and local than they have traveled around the world. They also bring with them the originality of a seasonal delicacy. This concept also applies to other vegetables, not just asparagus.
Warnings
- After eating the asparagus, the urine has a strong and characteristic odor. This is normal, the effect will wear off after a few hours.
- Be aware that other people, especially those you don't know well, may have their own views on the correct way to eat asparagus. When in doubt, please respect their idea.
- Check where the asparagus comes from before buying them. Try to prefer zero-kilometer products!
