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Introduction
| Tips and Techniques | Preparation
| Cooking | Recipe:
Sesame Asparagus
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Toss
with extra-virgin olive oil, just enough to coat the stalks
and tips. Add the juice of half a lemon per three-quarters of
a pound, sprinkle with chopped toasted unsalted peanuts, and
serve.
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Use
tips only and add to a pasta dish. |
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Toss
cooked tips into a summer garden salad. |
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Drizzle
steamed asparagus with delicious sweet butter, salt, a trio
of snipped summer herbs such as lemon thyme, mint, and basil,
and then lace with a veil of Parmesan cheese. |
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Bunch
steamed, pencil-thin asparagus together for individual serving
portions, and – using a long length of roasted red pepper
– tie into a small bow.
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Position
the asparagus with tips toward the edge of the plate and bottoms
meeting at the center, as though rays of the sun. Then place
your meat, poultry, fish, or pasta in the center.
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Make
a vase of asparagus for each serving. Place warm cooked asparagus
in a small shot glass or in a votive candle holder (no water).
Tie a ribbon around the glass and place right on the dinner
plate, next to the entree.
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Instead
of individual vases, bunch spears together and place them upright
as a bouquet in a clear vase at the table. Pass the vase around
with pretty food tongs for grabbing the spears. |
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Figure
on one-half pound per person (6 to 8 spears). Choose spears that are
straight, firm and uniform in size. Tips should be tightly closed.
If your store has them tied with an elastic band in bunches, do not
be intimidated if you want to pick and choose. Get the produce manager
to help you untie a few bundles.
Avoid buying asparagus spears that are flabby, or very thick, as they
will probably be stringy. Pencil-thin asparagus spears are desirable
and flavorful, and work best in recipes, but be careful not to get
any thinner than that, as they can be stringy. |
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