It’s pretty clear now that spring is officially here. I took full advantage of the warm weather this week to do some of the things I missed during the long, cold winter. I went for a walk in my Teva sandals, we made iced tea and got out our box fans. We researched air conditioners (we never did get one last year). Yesterday I ran/walked my first 5k ever (much more about that in a future post).
Other signs of spring? The return of fresh produce. Asparagus is now officially in season and recipes using it fill my reader. Brian and I have already consumed one bunch, but we just sautéed it in a pan and served it as a side dish. However, now that I’ve seen all of the other options, I think I’m going to get some more. How good is asparagus? Good enough for a royal wedding.
Mark Bittman must really love asparagus. He listed all thirteen (plus) years of asparagus recipes from his NY Times Minimalist column. Also in the NY Times, he published a collection of 12 different ways to steam, roast, stir-fry and grill the lovely vegetable. On his own site, Mark Bittman posted a recipe for roasted or grilled asparagus.
As much as I love Mark Bittman, he certainly doesn’t have a corner on asparagus ideas. Check out these other tasty suggestions:
- Closet Cooking’s Asparagus and Baby Artichoke Quinoa Salad and Asparagus Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Cynthia’s Simple Spring Veggie Roast
- Kitchen Daily’s Chili-Rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus & Lemon
- Thai-Style Scallops and Asparagus from the NY Times
- Chicken, Sausage, Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms, which I discovered via The Pioneer Woman
- Asparagus Shandong-Style and Asparagus with Crème Fraiche Mustard Sauce and Prosciutto as seen on Serious Eats
- Baked Eggs with Asparagus and Watercress in the Boston Globe
- Cheap Healthy Good’s Steamed Asparagus
Still don’t see anything you like? Cheap Healthy Good also reposted 81 recipes for asparagus and encouraged readers to post their favorite asparagus recipes.
Anyone have a great asparagus recipe that’s not listed above? All this writing about it really makes me want to go get some more…
Thanks for the link! :-)
We had asparagus on Easter, roasted in the oven with a little olive oil & salt sprinkled on top. As a child all I had was overcooked frozen stuff, so I never used to serve it. as you know.
Do you get fiddleheads out there, or is that only here in Maine? They remind me of asparagus. I haven’t seen them in the store yet but spring has been slow in coming.
There’s a series of local foraging events going on (finding your own wild foods: ramps, fiddleheads, etc), but I never hear much about fiddleheads here. Must be more of a Maine thing.
I’m so happy asparagus is in season now! I like it lightly roasted in the oven with salt and pepper. I don’t normally do a whole lot of other things with it since I don’t want it to get mushy.
I’m with you there-plus its so good, why mess with it?