Asparagus: the spearheads of Spring

 In the old days people used to steam asparagus standing up in a percolator (a coffee pot), slather it with butter and serve.  These spears are a Spring tonic: the energy they have to break through thawing ground becomes our energy to break out of winter. So asparagus deserves better. And here it is: with apologies for what a crappy template blogger provides; it keeps changing the font and size on me.

 Just Plain Roasted
First of all the easiest way in the world to enjoy asparagus is to cut off the woody ends, drizzle the spears with olive oil and sea salt and roast them on a flat baking sheet at 450º 12-15 min (depending on thickness of spears). Enjoy hot or cold. 

Spring Vegetable Clafoutis

Normally, the famed Provencal pudding, clafoutis, is a dessert that usually features freshly ripe cherries, but in this recipe I found in the Loire Valley of France, it's a main dish. The original had only spinach with tomatoes; I added fresh peas and asparagus to make it a real Spring fling. It's still kid stuff to make. (The top should probably not be so brown: I am cooking on a cheap electric range with inaccurate temperature.)

serves 6

10 oz. soft goat cheese
1 1/2 lbs cherry tomatoes, sliced (3 per tomato) 
1 lb fresh spinach leaves, cleaned and dried, chopped
8 med spears asparagus, ends off, cut into 2" lengths
1/2 c fresh or frozen green peas
3 extra large eggs
1 c unbleached white flour
2 c milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 
1/4 c fresh dill, finely chopped
1/4 c flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Preheat the oven to 350º. 
In a med saucepan, combine the spinach, asparagus and peas. Barely cover with water, add 1/4 tsp salt and simmer over low heat to soften, 15-20 min. Add water if necessary so nothing burns. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in a processor or mixer or with an immersion blender, combine the eggs, flour, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly. (This is the pudding part.)

before the pudding is poured on

Butter a medium baking dish (a pie dish is fine). Spread the goat cheese all over the bottom as evenly or equally as you can if it's in tiny pieces. Cover with the cooked vegetables. Mix in the dill and parsley. Top with the tomato slices. Pour in the batter and be sure it goes everywhere.

Bake at 350º 30 minutes or until it is not "shaky" in the center and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm with crusty bread and a crunchy salad.

Asparagus Escabeche

This is a traditional quick pickling method from Iberia, later adapted in Mexico and Central America. Most commonly it's with fish or meat. Here it's spring asparagus soured with vinegar. Vegans and vegetarians, go for it!

serves 4-6
3-4 tbsp olive oil (enough to cover bottom or large sauté pan
2 bunches med thick asparagus, cut into 4" lengths
1 sm leek, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced into disks
5 lg garlic cloves or spring garlic bulbs, s thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
8 whole small dried red chilis
1 tsp dried thyme or 4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves only and chopped
1/2 c dry sherry
1/4 c red wine vinegar 
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
In a large flat sauté pan, heat the olive oil and asparagus together over low heat, moving the spears around to coat them. Once the asparagus is sizzling, add leek and garlic, salt and pepper. Gently sauté over med/low heat until leek softens, 4-5 min. Add chilies and thyme. Increase heat to high. Add sherry and vinegar. Boil on high to reduce liquid to a few thick tbsp, 5-7 min. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Asparagus Bread Pudding

A recipe from my book, Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, where asparagus ends up in yet another unusual place. 
Serves 8-10

1 ½ lbs fresh asparagus
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium leek, cleaned
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 oz Gruyere cheese
1 ½ cups half and half
3 extra large or jumbo eggs, separated
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper (more to your taste)
2 cups freshly made breadcrumbs (from 3-4 slices firm white bread ground in a food processor)
1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest


Preheat oven to 450º.

Cut the bottom inch off the asparagus stalks and cut the remaining stalks in four equal pieces. Line a shallow roasting dish, or large toaster pan tray with foil and put the asparagus pieces on it. Coat with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 10 minutes at 450. Remove from oven.
Dice the leek. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat and add the leek and thyme. Sauté on medium low heat until leeks are soft, 3-5 minutes.
Pour half and half into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer (bubbles at the pot edge). While waiting, put the cheese into a food processor bowl and chop it. Add the roasted asparagus to the bowl. With the machine running, pour in the warm half and half. Do not over process. Add the remaining butter and one egg yolk at a time, processing with the pulse button to incorporate the three. Add the leeks from the sauté pan and salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and quickly process just to blend.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold them and the lemon zest into the asparagus mixture. Optionally: sprinkle on top 1/8 tsp smoked paprika and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg. Pour into the baking pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan and pour into that pan enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake in the center of the oven at 350º 40-50 minutes, depending on whether you use convection or not, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve warm.

Asparagus Pilaf
Here are all the delightful spices of India and the Middle East. 

  Serves 2-3

1 c fresh fava beans or lima beans or peas in a pinch

18 asparagus spears
1/2 c (heaping rather than skimpy) white basmati rice 
4 tbsp unsalted butter(1/2 stick)
3 bay leaves
6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed 
6 black peppercorns 
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1/4 tsp cumin seeds 
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
For the herb butter:
8 lg mint leaves, shredded 
1/4 c flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 scallions
4 1/2 oz butter, softened


Trim the asparagus, removing any tough ends. Cut the spears into 2" lengths. Boil or steam 5-6 min until just tender. Cook the beans/peas in deep, lightly salted, boiling water for three or four minutes. If using fava beans, drain and pop the largest of the beans from their skins. Any very small beans can be left as they are.

Wash the rice three times in a bowl of warm water. This will prevent it sticking together. In a large lidded sauce pan, Over moderate heat, melt the butter. Add bay leaves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin seeds and thyme. Stir the spices and herbs around in the butter until they are warm and fragrant, 2-3 min. Drain the rice and add it to the spices. Stir the rice to coat it with the butter, then pour in enough water to be 3/4" (same as the top knuckle of your first finger) above the rice. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, tightly cover the pot with a lid. Wait 7 min and then fold in the drained asparagus and beans/peas. Cook with lid on 5 min. Remove from the heat, leave the lid on and set aside 3 min. (It will continue to steam.)

Discard the roots and darkest green shoots of the scallions and finely chop.

Cream the butter until soft and fluffy. Season with coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt. Fold in the mint, parsley and spring onions. Lift the lid from the rice, stir with a fork to separate the grains, then fold in the herb butter. Serve at once.


P.S. Some people might want to add a handful of roasted cashews or almonds at serving time.

and finally, the annual posting of how to save Spring asparagus for later
Pickled Asparagus (aka Dilly Asparagus)

Pickled asparagus is such a great cocktail food that years ago I began substituting the spears for the green beans in my traditionally Dilly Beans recipe. Everybody loves this, especially as a gift. And remember, fermenting ups the nutrient ante a lot. So pickled asparagus is a big favor to your body.

2 lbs. asparagus spears
6 lg garlic cloves, halved and smashed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 dill head or 2 tbsp dill seed
2½ cups white vinegar
2½ cups water
¼ cup kosher salt (not regular salt)
3 1 qt canning jars with lids

Sterilize jars in boiling water.

Cut woody bottoms from spears and cut spears into 4” lengths (slightly shorter than the jar height). Put 4 garlic halves in each jar. Evenly divide pepper flakes and dill between each jar. Fill jars tightly with upright spears, mixing bottom and top halves as you go.
In a large saucepan, combine water, vinegar and salt. Stir to dissolve salt and bring to a full boil. Ladle into jars while boiling, filling to ¼” of the top. Shake jars to remove air bubbles. Seal jars. Put back in boiling water 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Listen for the lids to “pop” so you know the jars are securely sealed. Cool. Store in the pantry. Store opened jars in the refrigerator.