Ways to Use Asparagus
hey, corduroy–
Did you really say that you bought six pounds of asparagus? What on earth can you do with that much asparagus? Don’t you get sick of hollandaise sauce after a while?
Yes, I did buy 6 pound of spare grass, but I only kept 4 of them; I shared 2 with a friend. But, with the remaining 4 pounds, some of which still remains, I have not had hollandaise once. Here is a quick list off the top of my head of other ways to use this tasty spear:
¤ pan-roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper—my current stand-by, no hollandaise required.
¤ sliced thinly and added into a salad of fresh greens (did I mention that local lettuces are coming into season as well?)
¤ sliced thinly and used as a taco topping—how I ate asparagus last night.
¤ raw. Crunchy. Dip in dip if you so desire.
¤ soup. Not my favorite—asparagus in soup tends to overcook in my experience, but for the best results, I recommend saving the woody ends and simmering them in vegetable stock for about 30-45 minutes to infuse said stock with their flavor; strain, add a bit of heavy cream, and then very briefly simmer your chopped asparagus in this broth so that when it reaches your diners, the asparagus is still crisp (not slimy—ick!)
¤ fritters. Chop a couple spears of asparagus, mix in with a thick, savory pancake batter seasoned with a touch of salt and cayenne pepper; deep fry by the tablespoonful and serve immediately.
¤ shrimp and asparagus casserole. I’ve never actually made this, but I saw someone make it on public tv in new orleans about 10 years ago and I have saved the instructions in my recipe binder ever since, expecting that someday I may have shrimp and asparagus at the same time.
¤ put it in your home fries. Home fried potatoes are a technique, not a recipe. Start your diced potatoes first, and as they brown in your pan, get the onions ready to go. From there, it’s up to you. Asparagus would go nicely alongside carrots and red bell peppers.
¤ grill it. Just be careful to keep the spears perpendicular to the grate openings. Losing 1 is par for the course.
¤ asparagus soufflés. Don’t let the idea of a soufflé intimidate you—if you can make waffles from scratch, you can make a soufflé.
¤ poached with eggs. Same idea as asparagus with hollandaise, I suppose, but with a bit less fat (no butter added to the egg yolks) and only 1 pan gets dirtied.
¤ egg rolls. Trim asparagus spears to the length of your intended egg roll, and combine with julienne-cut sauteed onions, carrots, etc. Leave the asparagus spears full width so their presence stands out, and serve with freshly made mustard (combine 3 parts ground mustard with 2 parts water and let stand 10 minutes before serving).
I hope these suggestions help you to see some more of the potential asparagus has beyond hollandaise sauce!