I purchased some for the first time today. I’ve never had asparagus before, so I don’t know any recipes, and am not really sure how to prepare it. Is the whole spear edible? Any pointers and and recipes* would be helpful.
*nothing too involved though, I don’t really enjoy cooking.
Mmm…asparagus.
Wash the spears, snap off the tough end of the stems (they should naturally snap off where they’re supposed to). Toss with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt and taragon. Roast in oven until they’re brown and wilty-looking.
As nail bunny, said, grab a stalk in the middle, and at the bottom and try to snap it. It will snap right at the “edible/inedible” barrier.
Our two major ways to cook it:
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Steamed. Eat with salt & pepper.
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toss with vinegar, olive oil, S&P, maybe lemon juice and grill.
“Roasting until brown and wilty” sounds a little long to me. I still like a little bite to them. We only steam/grill them for a few minutes.
Also, since you’ve never had it before. . .if your pee smells CRAZY don’t worry. In a considerable amount of the population (including me), asparagus really makes their pee smell funny.
I cut the stalks into ~1.25 inch bits, then sautee in a mixture of olive oil, butter, a large heap of minced garlic, a little salt and pepper to taste.
For snacks at parties, my mother used to spread cream cheese lightly on rolled flat white bread or phyllo dough, (so that it resembled a tortilla shape), place the spear inside (I thinks she steamed them until they were a little wilty?), wrap it inside the bread, and then bake until just a little brown.
Steamed for about 3-4 minutes, then butter, salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Heaven! We just ate some Monday night.
When i worked at a restaurant we had a strawberry asparagus salad that was just 6 steamed asparagus stalks, a few slices of strawberry, some almond slivers and uhm…some kind of creamy dressing. Just laid out on a plate in a pretty design. It looked good - I’m sure it cost way too much though 
If you want to make cream of asparagus soup, here’s an excellent recipe my sister and I devised:
3 tbs butter
1/3 cup white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb asparagus
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
black pepper
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add salt and onion and saute until onion is almost translucent. Remove tough part of asparagus and chop into one inch pieces. When onion is done sauteing, add garlic and asparagus and saute for 2 minutes.
Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all asparagus is thoroughly tender. Cool mixture in ice-water bath. Pour into blender and puree for 2 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh seive or cheesecloth back into sauce pan. Add cream and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
Boil the asparagus in salt water after snapping the stalks as mentioned above, then shock them in a bowl of ice water. Roll them in slices of prosciutto, then drizzle olive oil over them and top with some fresh ground pepper.
Also, asparagus makes everyone’s pee smell funny. The genetic difference is that not everyone can smell it.
We steam them, as mentioned, then dip them in melted butter.
Hint for buying them - don’t get them too fat around. Thin (but not too thin) stalks are best.
When I lived in New Jersey, I had a good yielding asparagus bed. My proudest gardening accomplishment.
Wrap a few groups of 2-3 spears in parma ham and bake (180°) until ham is crispy
Wrap a few spears and some smoked mozzarella around middle in phyllo pastry brushed with melted butter. Leave ends poking out. Bake (180°) until pastry is crispy & golden.
I like them brushed with a little olive oil and grilled on the BBQ or on a hot plate for a few minutes. Or you can steam them and serve with some grated parmesan. If you don’t mind a little more work, they can be lovely in a frittata or in a tart, or cut into smallish chunks, boiled and tossed through pasta with some cheese.
Mmmm, love asparagus, sadly not in season here!
My favorite asparagus dish follows:
Steam 1 bunch for about five minutes, meanwhile mix up a dressing of:
2 TB room temperature butter
1 anchovy fillet, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
This is gorgeous on steamed asparagus. I also highly recommend a little salt, a little olive oil and a a 7 minute blast under the broiler. Fresh green beans are good this way too.
Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. Here’s two of my most often used preparations:
steam asparagus or simmer till just cooked through.
toss with balsamic vinagrette, walnuts, and crumbled feta or bleu cheese
steam or simmer asparagus
toss with soy, crushed garlic and slivered ginger.
squeeze half a fresh orange over and garnish with tiny green onion rings.
I dispute the “thicker!=good” common wisdom. As long as you break the woody ends off you will be fine. I like them any way.
…oh and rub a little olive oil, salt, and thyme and toss them on the grill, cut into 1-2" pieces and toss with quartered cherry tomatoes that you roasted under the broiler till they got all carmelized and delicious. great with grilled chicken.
Snap off the ends and steam with salt to desired doneness (not too limp!). Spread some cream cheese on sliced ham (the kind in the packets). Roll the asparagus in the ham. Chill and slice into hors d’oeuvre size.
I made asparagus speers in alfredo sauce once. It was very good, though a bit rich. (Alfredo sauce: equal parts freshly grated parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and butter. Heat slowly so that it doesn’t become gloppy. I’ve heard that adding an egg yolk helps, but haven’t tried it yet.)
Really, I like it plainly steamed with salt. Maybe topped with a little butter, but this isn’t necessary.
Steam and serve with Hollandaise sauce None of the recipes I found mentioned that it should be of the consistency of mayonnaise.
Ooh! This reminds me of a recipe! Shrimp and asparagus and roasted red peppers in alfredo sauce. Chicken would work, too. Saute the shrimp with a bit of garlic, steam the (bite size) asparagus for a couple of minutes, and add the above plus chopped jarred roasted red peppers to the sauce.
Thanks for the recipes and the information. I’m going to try grilling some tonight.