Filed under: Local Chemistry (Recipes)
I can hardly believe I’m still blogging asparagus. Doesn’t that vegetable know when to rest? But it’s local and in season, and by golly, I’m going to eat it until I turn green.
My vegetable roots are humble. I grew up eating vegetables from a can. Sometimes they were heated. Later, I had vegetables from a bag (frozen). And then I learned about steaming vegetables. I steamed everything imaginable. Asparagus steams just fine.
But now. Asparagus in the broiler. It’s simple, elegant, the asparagus retains its fresh green color and is tender and delicious. Just wash, snap off the ends (as you normally would) and put in a broiler dish (I use a glass baking dish). Sprinkle with olive oil (the best you have — I use Italian Sammarelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Lakewinds, sold to me by the farmer himself) and then sprinkle with kosher salt (or coarse salt but the flakiness of the kosher salt helps it stick) and then broil for about 8 minutes. Check it with a fork to see if it meets your tenderness needs. You can squeeze a bit of lemon over it if you’d like.
I hear this works fine on the grill too, but so far, I’ve done it indoors in the oven.
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
Another great way to fix asparagus is to stir fry it with garlic and ginger. Slice the tougher part of the stalk a little thinner. Dice garlic and ginger. Heat oil until almost smoking in a non-stick wok. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add asparagus (dry asparagus well with a paper towel before adding) and stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes more. Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, stir, and turn off heat. Delicious!
Comment by Terry May 13, 2009 @ 7:56 pm