How to Cook Asparagusposted in Vegetables and Beans by Kathy Maister
Asparagus with Guy Kawasaki's Teriyaki ChickenFor dinner at home, with or without company, I like to serve asparagus. Fresh asparagus can get cleaned, trimmed and steamed in the microwave in less than 10 minutes. I steam the "spears" just to the point where they are tender but still have a bite to them. Then I just add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and sometimes a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and the asparagus is ready to serve.
Buy asparagus that has nice bright green stalks and doesn't look dry or shriveled. Depending on the season, you can buy asparagus that is pencil thin or stalks that are three times thicker than a pencil! I prefer slightly thicker stalks which I then peel. Many years ago my old friend Roger Bennet (from London, Montreal and St Remy) taught me the peeling trick. (See below.)  Asparagus is sold by the bunch. There are approximately 14-18 spears of asparagus per bunch. Count on about 3 to 5 spears per serving. Make only what you are going to eat for dinner. Asparagus cooks really fast in the microwave so there is no point in making enough for leftovers. If you are not going to use it immediately, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. It should keep about 3-4 days. Preparation: Wash one bunch of asparagus under cool running water. Trim away the bottom 1/3 of the stalk. The tip of the asparagus is very tender, but the further down you go on the stalk, the tougher it gets. If you bend the asparagus it will naturally snap at the point where it goes from tender to tough (which is usually about 1/3 of the stalk).
Leslie demonstrates this method in startcooking.com's post on Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Sauce. You can now use the new shorter "broken" asparagus as a guide to cut the rest of the bunch.
Peel the stalks so that they are the same width as the tip. This ensures even cooking. Really thin stalks of asparagus do not need peeling.
Lay the asparagus two to three deep in a rectangular dish. Add one Tablespoon of water. Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Leave a small vent in the corner for steam to escape. (This also helps the plastic wrap from almost shrink wrapping itself over the asparagus. When that happens it's a lot harder to remover the plastic wrap. (Be careful not to get burnt from the hot steam!)
Set the microwave on high heat and cook the asparagus about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. If you want your asparagus to be more tender, cook it for another 30 seconds or so. Be sure not to overcook asparagus. Overcooked asparagus not only turns to mush, but it develops into a very unappealing shade of green. Asparagus is great served either hot or cold. If you are going to be serving it cold you need to get the cooked spears cooled off quickly or they will loose their bright green color. You can either put the hot spears in a bowl of ice water...
...or in a colander and run cold water over the spears.
For more startcooking.com tips on blanching vegetables check out Keep it Fresh: Learn How to Blanch. Cheers! Ingredients: (Makes 3-4 servings)
If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free. 50 commentsJon Sacker For me the best sauce for asparagus has to be just some soft butter which melts into an oozing mess around the spears and then a little turn of finely ground black pepper. English asapragus is wonderful. It only has a short season, but whne it's fresh and new - it just can't be beaten. Kathy Maister If I’m at home I like asparagus, cold, with just salt, pepper and lemon juice. My most favorite *brunch at a restaurant* dish is Eggs Benedict with asparagus. The low calorie asparagus justifies all that hollandaise sauce! Natalie Westlake Good Day My husband and I were wondering about the stems ,it seems to be a waste to throw out and we were wondering if I cut just the bottom of them off can we eat the rest of the stem and of course the vegetable it self. Kathy Maister Hi Natalie, Yes by all means eat the stems! If they are thick I would peel them first. The stems will take a bit longer to cook than the more delicate tops. Enjoy! Mia W. Although it involves the same prep work, a very easy, quick, but amazingly delicious way I've found to prepare asparagus is roasting. Hi Mia, what a great way to cook asparagus! Quick and easy and it sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing! hello! thank you for your very informative step by step guide. i'd never cooked asparagus before and so this was extremely helpful. Hi Letti, glad to be of help! Asparagus is so good, hot or cold! Cheers! Ken I didn't know how to cook asparagus correctly, in the past I cooked it in salted water,...which really wasn't successful, but after reading I can microwave them for 2 1/2 minutes I thought I would try. this method. I made a Bearnaise sauce and added a small chopped onion (fried) and then a small tomato (fried),mixed them with the sauce , heated for a couple of minutes and then served over red salmon fillets and the asparagus. It was a delicious combination. WoW! Ken you really do know your way around the kitchen! Your Bernaise sauce sounds wonderful! For those of you who do not know what a Bernaise sauce is, click here! thanks for this! helped me with a last minute request for fresh asparagus for thansgiving Dear Kathy
Let me Thank You Very Much For yr suggustions on the stems we now enjoy the whole veg. LB and Natalie-I'm delighted to be of help! Years ago, my old friend Roger taught me the peeling trick with asparagus. The whole stem gets cooked evenly and there is very little waste! Rachel I cook it with a little bit of butter, lemon juice, and seasoned salt. It's absolutely wonderful! I'm with you Rachel! Easy and delicious! Place the cooked asparagus in a pan with butter, top with grated parmesan; add and egg to the side an fry it sunny side up. This is an italian way of serving asparagus. j.p I put asparagus in a plastic bag and add italian dressing..zip..shake to coat them evenly and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Alessandra, and j.p, these are perfect suggestions for startcooking - Thanks! j.p - What do you set the oven temperature at? j.p i set it to 350 usually. c6 I grill asparagus all the time. Toss it with olive oil and a finely-ground seasoned salt (I use Adobo with lemon). Put on a hot grill, turn after 2-3 minutes. That's it! Seems too many ways to cook asparagus , the important thing is to add some thing to remove the bitter (a bit) .Most of the Chinese may add some oyster sauce to make it perfect. Sounds good! I though cooking fresh asparagus was going to be more difficult. Steaming fresh vegetables in the microwave is a really quick and healthy way to add a bit of green on your dinner plate! Maile Green Asparagus I love baked with lemon and pepper. White Asparagus I love boiled with Hollander sauces. Absolutely wonderful! enjoy Yurop Incredible how the US can mess up cooking. Asparagus is to be cooked on a stove, with the stalks tied in a bundle so they stand up on their own. You're supposed so put them in water so that the tips are not immersed in water. This prevent overcooking of the tops but assures that the bottoms are well-cooked. Somewhere in Europe they even sell a specific boiler for this purpose, with a small enough diameter so that tieing is not necessary. Enjoy and please stop eating trans fats like crazy :) Yurop, Thank-you for sharing your method of cooking asparagus. Standing the asparagus up, tied or in a special pot, is just one of the many different ways you can cook asparagus. Peeling the asparagus, so that the stalk is the same thickness as the tip, ensures even cooking. If the stalks are all really thin to begin with, then it is not necessary to peel the asparagus. Hillary Another good thing to add is balsamic ving. dressing. It adds a great flavor. Hillary you are so right! In fact we just did a post on How to Use Balsamic Vinegar. (Everyone should keep in mind that it has a really strong flavor so you only need a few drops!) What is the best food to accompany asparagus as I've never made this before. My boyfriend suggested it with hollandaise sauce which I bought, so whats the next step please. Hi Kirtsy, Everyone has a favorite way to serve asparagus! Will started us off with a snazzy mayo Jon - butter and black pepper I like salt and pepper and lemon juice Ken included his Bearnaise Sauce Allessandra adds shaves parmesan cheese and a fried egg Hillary likes asparagus with balsamic vinegar JP like Italian dressing C6 uses sea salt and grills the asparagus Mia broils it with oil and lemon juice Alain like asparagus with oyster sauce Maile bakes it with lemon and pepper If we are going to grill the asparagus, should we blanche it first? Just lightly coat it witih olive oil when we grill it? What do you suggest? Hi Amy, no it is not necessary to blanch asparagus before grilling it. It will cook up in no time! I have discovered you can also fry it in a pan with just a bit of oil and it come out beautifully! Jenny G I discovered I loved asparagus when I had it grilled and drizzled with melted butter and garlic. I began experimenting and I think I have tried almost every way mentioned here. I usually just put some oil and freshly minced garlic in a pan and cook it all in the same pan for abot 3 min. Sometimes I sprinkle fresh parm cheese, bacon, or almonds over the asparagus. My very favorite way is to wrap it in bacon and garlic and bake for 20 min. =) I love asparagus! Jenny that sounds wonderful! Cooking the garlic is the key for me. I find raw garlic has too much of a "bite" and the garlic breath afterwards is a killer! MrsDM I do the ol' "snap the ends off" routine, 'cause that's how I was taught - and I do not peel the thicker stalks... I like to steam mine on the stovetop - I have a collapsible steamer basket that fits nicely into my dutch oven. I add about 1/2" of water, then add the asparagus. Bring it to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer for about 15 mins. Check for desired doneness. I then remove them to a container, add butter & a bit of salt, put the lid on and gently toss it a bit to coat. (Not too hard, tho - ya knock of the tips!) Thanx for all these variations - hubby & I are gonna try a few... sounds de-lish !! Wow! 15 minutes sounds like an awful long time to steam asparagus! Is it standing up when you cook it? Dana I have never cooked asparagus, but am planning on trying it for the first time tomorrow. Thanks for all the great ideas. That's great Dana! Be sure not to over cook the asparagus. It should be "tender-crisp" and not mushy. mahini thanks for these delicious recipe comments ... Thanks Mahini! Suzette Thompson Hey!!! some of us like it mushy... like me.. i prefer it so that it melts in my mouth. I guess that makes me weird. Svetlana Thank's for recipes ,is easy to follow every step and very helpful.I have never cooked asparagus but I want to try.I'm from Romania and here asparagus is not in everyday menu is more "wow,what is this?"...Ha.Have a nice day everybody. Liz Hill Thank you for your cooking suggestion! I've always loved asparagus but have never made it because I thought it would be hard to make. But now, with your instructions, I got some asparagus today and I can't wait to make it! :-) Thanks!! Liz Asparagus is indeed a GREAT vegetable! I love it served either hot or cold! Fran Rather than cut off ends try snapping them off as the tough part will come away and you won't waste any tender part or fail to remove any tough part. Also the tough parts chopped and added to a vegetable stock really help give great taste if you want to make a risotto with asparagus, don't throw them away. I love warm asparagus drizzled with good olive oil and a litttle melted butter and freshly grated parmesan....angel food! Hello Fran, Thanks for those tips on cooking asparagus! Grated parmesan is a great topping idea. Jessica Hi Fran, I just bend the stalk till it snaps. It's more fun than cutting them all the same size. Kathy hollandaise sauce is also very good with asparagus 2 trackbacks
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What`s your favorite sauce to pour over aparagus, Kathy ? My mom would make a mayonaise with herbs and mix the mayo with beaten eggwhites to make a kindof moussy mayo delight. Not for calorie counters !