Tag Archives: asparagus recipe

Asparagus Snuggled In Bacon

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Bacon always makes everything better -- including asparagus.
Bacon always makes everything better — including asparagus.

Pick a card, any card.

Then, fire up the grill.

“The BBQ Companion” collection of 50 recipe cards (Smith Street) is sure to spark fun with backyard grilling this summer.

Think of them like flash cards — only each one contains a different grilling recipe along with a color photo of the finished dish.

The recipe cards, of which I received a review copy, were created by Sydney-based food writer Oscar Smith.

The collection includes 50 different grilling recipes to enjoy.
The collection includes 50 different grilling recipes to enjoy.

The recipes include everything from “Firey Lemongrass Chicken Wings,” “Grilled Lamb Loin with Anchovy & Garlic Butter,” and “Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce” to “Haloumi Burgers with Peperonata” and “Rum-Spiked Barbecued Banana Boats.”

In keeping with spring’s bounty, I drew the recipe card for “Asparagus-Wrapped in Bacon.”

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Asparagus Fry — With Mustard Seeds and Coconut

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A simple saute of asparagus that gets dressed up with Indian flavors.
A simple saute of asparagus that gets dressed up with Indian flavors.

Spring may signal bountiful flowers. But for me, first and foremost, it brings asparagus.

I can barely contain myself when the first spears start showing up at the farmers markets. Because from then on out, I eat my fill of those sweet, thick spears every week until they disappear all too rapidly at the end of their short season.

Asparagus aren’t often highlighted in Indian cooking. So, when I spied a recipe for “Asparagus Fry” flavored with chilies, mustard seeds, and shredded coconut, I was all in.

This quick and easy recipe is from the new “Mindful Indian Meals,” of which I received a review copy.

It’s by San Franciscan Shivangi Rao, a designer and product manager in the healthcare industry, who founded the blog, Raody Recipes.

Growing up, Rao was plagued by digestive and cognitive autoimmune illnesses, which even impacted her ability to walk at one point. She eventually learned that certain foods triggered her symptoms, which led her to eliminate them. The only problem was many of them were the beloved foods she had grown up with: Indian sweets made with refined sugar; lentils high in starch; and rice and roti, both high in simple carbohydrates.

So, she set out on a path to reclaim those flavors that are so integral to her family and culture.

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Shaved Asparagus Salad with Asparagus Buttermilk Dressing and Pickled Asparagus Tips

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Asparagus shines three ways in this composed salad.
Asparagus shines three ways in this composed salad.

With his trademark crisp white shirt, Christmas-red bow tie, and denim overalls that he’s never without (not even at the black-tie Jame Beard Awards), Farmer Lee Jones is a larger-than-life character.

But he is no caricature.

He is the real deal.

When his family nearly lost its soy bean and corn farm in Ohio during the 1980’s economic downturn, he managed to save it by taking a gamble to transform it.

Instead of growing feed crops like soybeans and corn, he downsized to nurture obscure specialty herbs, fruits and vegetables after a chance meeting with a chef looking for someone to grow squash blossoms.

Today, the small, sustainable Chef’s Garden is revered by chefs nationwide, including Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Jose Andres. It’s this farm that we have to thank for the whole microgreens movement. During the pandemic, the farm adapted to changing times once again, offering delivery of its produce to consumers so that Jones wouldn’t have to lay off any employees, despite its main customer base, restaurants, ordering far less because of curtailed operations.

Jones’ story is captured in “The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes” (Avery), of which I received a review copy. Written by Jones with Kristin Donnelly, former food editor at Food & Wine magazine, this lavishly photographed 240-page book is not only packed with recipes, but detailed information about selecting, storing, cleaning and using a wealth of produce. The book hones in on both the familiar and the esoteric, from ramps, hearts of palm, and bamboo shoots to amaranth, arrowhead root, and crystal lettuces.

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Simmered Asparagus with Orange and Mint

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A classy little asparagus dish that requires barely any time at all.
A classy little asparagus dish that requires barely any time at all.

My favorite way to enjoy asparagus is grilled. The high heat brings out the natural sweetness of the spears, while the lick of smoke makes anything tastier.

But now and again, it’s nice to swap primal and rustic for elegant and lady-like.

That’s where “Simmered Asparagus with Orange and Mint” comes in.

It’s much like glazed carrots — pan-simmered with a little water and aromatics until the liquid evaporates and turns to steam, leaving behind perfectly tender spears coated with deliciousness.

The recipe is from “All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice” (W.W. Norton, 2019), of which I received a review copy. It’s by award-winning cooking instructor, cookbook author, and recipe developer Molly Stevens.

It’s one of 150 recipes in this indispensable book that offers up approachable and thoughtful dishes for home-cooks that make use of vegetables, grains, meats, fish, and sweets.

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Sushi The Easy Way: Asparagus and Scrambled Egg Scattered Sushi

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It's like a deconstructed maki roll, which means it's so much easier to make, too.
It’s like a deconstructed maki roll, which means it’s so much easier to make, too.

At times like this especially, it pays to have a well-stocked pantry loaded with spices, condiments, and dry goods from around the world.

My husband used to joke that our kitchen shelves runneth over with star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, yellow mustard seeds, cumin, pimenton, garam masala, za’atar, togarashi, and so much more.

Now, with a mandate to shelter in place during the coronavirus crisis, he is definitely grateful that I am such a culinary pack-rat.

Because that meant that after grabbing a bunch of fresh spring asparagus at the market just before the request came down to stay home as much as possible, I was able to easily make “Asparagus with Scrambled Egg Scattered Sushi.”

It’s from the new cookbook, “Japanese in 7: Delicious Japanese Recipes in 7 Ingredients or Fewer” (Kyle Books), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Kimiko Barber, a Kobe-born self-taught Japanese cook.

As the name implies, the recipes all require seven ingredients or fewer. Barber takes a little liberty with that because some recipes will require the making of sub-recipes to complete, which will add up to more than seven ingredients all together.

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