Green, Purple, White: Asparagus is a Must
Jun 17th, 2008 by Marilyn
In Paris, the asparagus was white as snow in summer.
It is such a common sight in French markets that I heard at least one American gasp upon seeing it. “That would cost a fortune at home,” she said, and it would. Here, we look at white asparagus like Siberian tigers – exotic and rare, hard to get. At least they’re docile and go down easy.
Then there is the purple asparagus. A little bit blue-ribbon here, common as Perrier there.
And yes, they even have our own green asparagus, but it looks so skinny and pale next to its robust white cousins, so pick me, Pierre, I’m okay but I’m green. Perhaps green asparagus flourishes on our shores out of spite - hey, we’re a beloved side dish, a provider of folic acid in the new world. Yeah.
I can’t imagine a summer without spear after spear. I dredge those beauties through lemon butter and bite off tips before they ever reach the table. Here in Kansas, asparagus bursts from local farms onto as many plates as possible – we even have a U-Pick-It place where you leave with sunburned cheeks and green hands. You pick it, you steam it, you love it.
I love it steamed with lemon or stir-fried with sesame. How do you love your asparagus?
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Late-breaking news from the kitchen. Clearly my own post stirred me to prove my herbaceous love. Right after publishing, I chopped up a green sheaf for beef & asparagus stir-fry dinner. The asparagus was first briefly steamed, and that was enough to bring my family to the kitchen. Not every stalk made it to the stir-fry.
Seared rare beef and scallions tossed with soy, sherry, garlic and a ton of asparagus. If the stove didn’t require a full post-splatter cleaning, I swear I’d make it every single night.
I remember that meal in that bottom photo! It was one of the greatest meals I have ever had!
Would *purple* asparagus have made it better? I think not!
Raw.
Steamed.
Deep-fried.
In that one souffle-ish thing that I need to dig the recipe out from, and which I never get to make because nobody else in my family likes asparagus.
(I tried to tell the kiddo about the Special Powers asparagus would give him, but even that didn’t convince him to eat it. Kid’ll eat broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, fennel, almost any crazy thing else, so I guess I can’t complain.)
Also, the large majority of asparagus at the farmer’s market here is purple. The only time I’ve seen white, though, was what Mom brought back from Spain. It was canned, and pretty flavorless. One of these years I’ll go bury step-adopted-father-in-law’s (otherwise green) asparagus sprouts so we can try fresh white.
Asparagus. Ick. Oh, wait. Unless I can dip it in thai peanut sauce.
YUM! Blanched/boiled and then rubbed with salty butter.
Steamed! Hey, tell me about that dish above. Do you have those recipes listed on your blog? That looks excellent. My favorite dish at PF Chang’s is Citrus Soy Salmon served on asparagus. Man, that citrus soy is great! Can you figure out a recipe for citrus soy salmon and tell me? I have tried several things. Lemons, oranges, grapefruit. I just can’t get the right combo. There is wasabe involved, which I haven’t tried yet.
Ooooh, that purple asparagus looks yummy! My favorite way to cook it is to toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw it on the grill for 2 minutes until it is charred on the outside, but crunchy on the inside. That’s it — I can eat it like candy.
With lemon, butter, salt and pepper.
Doesn’t that make just about any veggie wonderful?
That white asparagus looks like chopped off fingers.
Steamed. With butter, lemon and a little salt. Once in a while, with Hollandaise. Love it.
I like it just about any way it’s served. I use a bit of balsamic vinegar in olive oil with salt n pepper if I don’t have fresh lemon. I also love to use lime on it.
I made a warm wilted salad with asparagus, beets, red onion and almonds in a vinaigrette. mmmmmm
Joel – nothing could have improved that meal. Nothing except a story at the table about your burst blister-face. Yum.
Junebug – the first meal pictured includes lightly floured & sauteed chicken breasts with red wine and dried cherries, cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Those recipes aren’t up because I’m a lazy cook who throws things together at the stove, but the chicken is awfully good – I’ll work one up for you.
I like every single way to eat asparagus mentioned here, especially grilled, citrus-soy, and the possibility of thai peanut sauce – though I do not appreciate thinking of them as chopped-off fingers. Rechelle, I changed the photo for you. Now it looks like a lot more fingers.
I also like asparagus soup (Lydia has a great recipe today at The Perfect Pantry) and asparagus-goat cheese tarts that make terrific brunch. Mmm.
Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt, baked until tender. Yum!!
(Sigh.) It’s a great story. Unfortunately, now I have a story about inappropriately telling the story.
Yum the stir fry looks fab!
But the real question is………
Why does it make your pee smell funny?
There I typed it and I know everyone has wondered.
Roasted! Put it on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, some veggie seasoning, black pepper, and the juice of half a lime. Roast at 400 for 7-10 minutes until charred a bit. So lovely.