on Feb 27th, 2008Wonderful asparagus
It wasn’t too long ago that the appearance of asparagus at the market, in time for Easter dinner, heralded the arrival of spring. Now, like so many fruits and vegetables, it has become virtually seasonless, nearly always available, although the more tender white variety can be harder to find. Despite that, it’s still a labor-intensive vegetable and therefore is often expensive in the US.
It’s an ancient vegetable. Wikipedia says it appears in the oldest-surving recipe book, from the 3rd century. It fell out of favor in the Middle Ages but returned to popularity in the 17th Century and has been with us ever since. It’s loaded with vitamins but is low-calorie and free of fat or cholesterol.
Of course, preparation can change all that. In the past, asparagus was usually served with Hollandaise, one of the mother sauces. But while Hollandaise is a classic, many eschew it because of its raw egg yolks and thankfully, that heavy, rich presentation is thoroughly old-fashioned and outdated today.
Nowadays we steam or roast many vegetables and serve them minimally, with ingredients to enhance their flavors, not smother them. This is a roasting recipe — grilled would be amazing — and it’s a family favorite in the home of the friend who gave it to me. She found it years ago in Cooking Light (a popup-happy site) and we’ve both changed it, notably to eliminate the use of cooking spray as an “ingredient” and I’ve adapted the method. She makes it often and thinks her husband could make a meal of it. So could I.
I was fortunate to find asparagus in a good sale — $1.99 per pound, instead of the regular $4.99. I didn’t hesitate to buy some, knowing it will keep about a week in the refrigerator, when stored with a damp paper towel in a bag or container. Rule of thumb from asparagus.com: treat them like cut flowers.
For more on storing and using asparagus, there’s an excelent know-how guide here at BBC Good Food magazine online. I’ve loved this magazine for years, in part because it emphasizes seasonality. Not every recipe I’ve tried from it is a winner but there have been more home runs than strikeouts.
And there’s a terrific illustrated tutorial on trimming and microwave-steaming asparagus at Start Cooking. I’ll confess, I rarely use a knife to trim the spears. I just bend the stalk and where it snaps is where it should be trimmed. For company I do pretty them up.
Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Butter
Even if you use less asparagus, make the full amount of sauce. Any excess will keep, refrigerated, for a couple days for another round.
1 pound (approx) asparagus, trimmed
1 - 2 TB olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
fresh-ground black pepper
2 TB unsalted butter
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 400F/205C.
Spread asparagus in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (line with foil for quicker cleanup if you wish) and drizzle or brush with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and and pepper. Roast for 10 - 12 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan (1 qt is ideal) over medium-low heat, melt the butter and let cook until lightly browned, several minutes, stirring from time to time. Butter has a low smoke point; don’t leave the pan unattended.
Remove from the heat and stir in the soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over asparagus, toss well to coat and serve immediately.
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Good day, Miss Ella! Well, don’t ya know it, I will be making this again tonight with ribeye steaks for the husband who could just make a meal of the asparagus and say ‘heck with the steak’. Ok, not so much with turning down the steak, but it’s close! hehe
Hope everybody who tries this just loves it as we do. I’ve been making it for years and it is the easiest recipe I’ve ever had for something so truly delectable.
Ms. Chick! Thanks again for raving about this fabulous recipe for so long. I only wish I’d tried it sooner.
Your dinner is making me hungry! Yeah, 4 ounces of steak, 8 ounces of this asparagus sounds perfect.
This looks delicious! Thanks Ella for such a quick and simple recipe!
My pleasure! Thanks for coming by!
Two stories about asparagus. Grew up on a farm where we had our own asparagus bed … it was an early child-hood ritual to go down and cut fresh for supper and one of dad’s favourites, boiled lightly with melted butter. Most of the store-bought asparagus today is too ‘chunky’ and tough. Luckily, mum keeps up the farm. I tend the bed now in the late fall, and cut back in early spring. We don’t get quite the crop that we used to, but still, three to four good feeds satiates the primal need … It is truly the first veg of SPRING.
Two. I have a lovely wacky Auntie who INSISTS on peeling her asparagus before serving. I don’t mean ‘trim’, I mean ‘peel’. She says it is the ‘correct’ way to serve this wonderful stuff. She lightly grills them, never boils …
I think Asparagus from Ontario, Canada is my all time favourite.
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Great, great stories, thanks! My mom used to peel asparagus too and sometimes I do, if the stem seems at all woody. And yes, it is spring’s first veggie…so rhubarb’s not far behind, although it’s available year round now too.
I’ve never had Ontario asparagus; the the last time I was there I was served fiddleheads. I’d bought them once in NYC and didn’t like them — blamed my cooking. But having them in their own backyard (from a good cook) made a huge difference.
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