I thought I'd start a thread for the sole glorification of this vegetable. It will be spring soon, right?
We roast spargle a lot (that's the German word for it and what we call it at our house). I get tired of that. So I went looking for other recipes. Found these c
Vegetarian Cassoulet
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quick-white-bean-asparagus-50400000111138/ (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quick-white-bean-asparagus-50400000111138/)
Lemon Tarragon Asparagus
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-tarragon-asparagus-50400000111101/ (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-tarragon-asparagus-50400000111101/)
Grilled A with Caper Viagarette
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-asparagus-with-caper-vinaigrette-10000002001918/ (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-asparagus-with-caper-vinaigrette-10000002001918/)
Not a recipe but, I always hated asparagus. My son and his wife served it last year, and to be polite I took one small one. It was delicious. DH also hated it, until that day. Turns out, we both had it boiled, and probably over cooked.
Now we both like it.
It think it would go wonderfully with lemon...DH is not willing to try it that way.
I always had it canned as a child--hated it. I guess I probably ate it in college. I remember eating it a lot from the first year we married (also liked beets for the first time, ate lots of new things I never grew up with). We had a wonderful asparagus steamer about 20 years ago. It was a tall, skinny pot with a basket for loading the asparagus into. But it rusted. The pot we still have I think.
I do like it steamed. I also like it roasted (tossed in EVOO and salted), but DH tends to put more olive oil on it than I prefer. And I do like variety, so these dishes will help.
Lemon is very good on spargel.
I tried the cassoulet dish tonight. It's good. Needs a bit more salt. I didn't have french bread (I will never have it as long as I'm allergic to sesame), and I didn't have time to make my breadcrumbs, so I used wheat germ. Not a great idea that one. But this dish really does have the sense of cassoulet--without the meat, of course. I like it better than real cassoulet--I am not a fan of pork.
There is a world of difference between steamed/boiled asparagus and roasted/grilled. Dy cooking gives it more if a meaty flavor, while wet cooking gives it more if a grassy flavor. I like both, but much prefer the dry cooking flavor. But it really is a matter of taste, and complimenting what else you are serving.
Though I find steamed delightful and boiled not.
Tonight the recipe calls for blanching it. That was fine. It was still a gorgeous bright green when I ate it--after it had been blanched, cooled, then readded to the dish before putting it under the broiler.
Really, boiling any vegetable other than potatoes to make mashed potatoes should be forbidden. It does nothing good for them.
When I think as a child the only non-canned vegetables I had were pretty much boiled to death, I wonder how I came out of childhood eating any vegetables at all.
I sometimes mix up a miso (adzuki bean miso in my case) dressing (miso, red pepper, can't remember what else) and toss lightly steamed or blanched asparagus pieces in it, then let sit for most of the day. I've done slaw the same way. I must use rice vinegar and ginger and garlic. Maybe. Maybe sesame oil or toasted sesame seeds, but not for Macabre.
Too late to think about it. :hiding:
Love, love, love, it on the grill - especially with portobellos.
Stir fried with garlic. Yum.
Blanched and then wrapped with cream cheese and prosciutto. Yummy appetizer!
A friend of mine did this but baked it after wrapping it...too greasy for me but people really liked it.
Quote from: Macabre on March 11, 2014, 09:03:05 PM
I didn't have french bread (I will never have it as long as I'm allergic to sesame), and I didn't have time to make my breadcrumbs,
Do you buy most of your breads and buns? I have only one or two breads I can buy. Anything like buns or French, I make. I have a nice recipe if you have a bread machine.
Quote from: GoingNuts on March 12, 2014, 05:49:29 AM
Love, love, love, it on the grill - especially with portobellos.
Stir fried with garlic. Yum.
That sound wonderful. I think I 'll try that if summer ever returns.
We grill it, either directly, or in a foil packet. Drizzled with a bit of home made balsalmic vinegrette. If the grill is not accessible, I simply steam it al dente in the microwave. Surprisingly, I have not roasted it, that I recall. I roast most veggies at some time or another.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-asparagus-with-balsamic-vinegar-2/ (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-asparagus-with-balsamic-vinegar-2/)
this is excellent. You can shave some parmesan cheese on it prior to roasting also if desired. If we grill it, we again just drizzle with balsamic when it comes off the grill.
We make asparagus rafts to grill it with toothpicks. See the picture in the next recipe...we do not make this recipe due to the sesame (I would if no allergy)
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1267648/sesame-grilled-asparagus-rafts (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1267648/sesame-grilled-asparagus-rafts)
So a friend in DE lives on a farm and grows it, I loved getting asparagus from her that was cut fresh in the mornings. She just posed this on FB for friends who end up with lots of asparagus from her.
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/cooking-with-asparagus-00412000074651/ (http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/cooking-with-asparagus-00412000074651/)
Hezz that's where I got the three recipes I posted. :)
SL the only store bought bread I eat is:
--Pepperidge Farm (and not their buns)
--Kings Hawaiian Bread, which is sweet (I'll use their mini sub rolls and their bread is okay for communion in a pinch)
--_________ Potato rolls. I forgot the name. Those are the buns I can eat.
DH makes bread weekly, and he could make a French loaf if I asked him to.
This story came just in time!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/13/289607183/top-5-ways-asparagus-a-rite-of-spring-can-still-surprise (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/13/289607183/top-5-ways-asparagus-a-rite-of-spring-can-still-surprise)
Here's how the story starts:
As the snow melts, even in Minnesota, and daylight lingers into evening, people who like to eat with the seasons know what's coming: asparagus.
:rofl:
Spargel soup tonight! DS loved it.
--Asparagus (1lb or so), chopped and roasted (tossed in EVOO, coarse salt and pepper first)
--Onion and two cloves of garlic sauteed. I sauteed in EVOO but added a little butter at the end.
--1 cup of No-chicken Stock by Imagine (I'm guessing non-vegetarians would use chicken stock)
--1 cup-ish of 1% milk
blended it
reheated it
served with a few dollops of goat cheese and garnished with a few spargel spear tips I saved from the blender
wow
Cannot wait for some really FRESH a**-per-grass (that's what I grew up calling it) . . .
I'm really wanting to have some in my veggie garden (still in the planning stages, will be next year's project) . . . but this year I'll settle for Farmer's Market Fresh. :-)
I love it in Pasta Primavera . . .
Going to add grilled asparagus to my menu with lamb / meat for April / Easter.
Yum!!