Posted by Suzanne McMinn on February 18, 2008 @ 5:10 am
Tags: asparagus, vegetables
Sides & Salads, The Farmhouse Table
How to Make Perfect Asparagus:
52: Order asparagus plants from Gurney’s. Wait for delivery and then plant. Wait two years. Cut stalks in the spring. Cut tough ends from stalks. Fry (saute for you chefs) tops in olive oil and garlic with seasoning salt, garlic salt, and onion salt til almost crisp. Sprinkle with sea salt. Red pepper flakes are allowed. Suzanne calls this green candy. I think it’s the salt.
Me: Did he say four kinds of salt? Oh well. I don’t care! It’s so good!!!
We bought some asparagus to plant at the farm. Isn’t that exciting? I’m not planning to wait two years before I have more asparagus, though!
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6:23
am
Oh, yum! Thanks for the recipe!
I think I’d ease up on all the salt, though. LOL. Doesn’t anyone worry about heart disease, high blood pressure, etc.?
Maybe your families are from genetically hardy stock!
-Kim
7:03
am
I think it could be made with less salt, LOL.
7:19
am
yum, one of my favorite veggies! 52’s way is so much better than steamed or boiled. doncha just love a man who cooks?
7:56
am
Yum!
8:25
am
I love asparagus, but boiled or steamed is the only way I’ve ever fixed it. This sounds great. I have some in the fridge. I’m cooking it tonight for sure.
52 sounds like a good man.
9:17
am
Excellent.
I also recommend a marinade of olive oil, kosher salt, and a dribble of sesame oil. Maybe a tablespoon of soy sauce as well. It doesn’t come off too strong, but it really brings out the flavor of the asparagus.
Asparagus simply cannot have enough salt.
9:19
am
Oh, almost forgot — the best way to do asparagus, the absolutely bestest most perfect way, is on a skewer over a campfire. It gets smoky and lightly crispy and perfect and…
Damn, when is spring coming?!?
9:44
am
Looks DELISH!!!
10:44
am
I’ve never been a huge asparagus fan, but I may just have to try this.
11:13
am
That looks yummy! But that IS a lot of salt
But sometimes you have to sacrifice and eat stuff like too much sugar, and too much salt to eat good cooking!
1:51
pm
Mmm…that’s making my mouth water. I LOVE asparagus. I wish it weren’t so expensive!
My yard is too shaded to grow it, so I’m forced to buy it in the store, which means I only get it about once a year due to the cost.
2:35
pm
I don’t care if asparagus is expensive right now, I’m gonna try this. But I had a thought. Sometimes my husband cooks (another cooking man! We love you, dudes!) veggies in a steam bath of sea water. I am trying to think how that would taste with this asparagus…all that salty taste w/out all the salt? Seems everyone is opposed to all your salt, 52. Although, if you’ve lived to the ripe OLD AGE of 52 while ingesting all this asparagus you’re doing something right.
(Okay, I had to say: OLD AGE…)
2:49
pm
Okay, how about if we use garlic Powder, onion Powder ( or fresh garlic and maybe dried minced onions)?? Cajun seasoning is good, too, though it contains Salt.
But, my doctor told me years ago to enjoy my food/life and use all the salt I want.
Steamed/boiled is just not good once you’ve cooked it this way.
3:08
pm
I love asparagus all ways…but sometimes must apologize in the ladies room after eating it…does anyone out there know what I mean?
3:42
pm
Looks good, too bad I destest apsparagus! *G*
4:12
pm
We have been think about our garden for this srping and asparagus is something that we have planned to add. Our son makes the best! In WI we knew someone that just used it as a plant in their flower bed. It was really different in there with the hosta and iris. Really added lots of interest…but I would have
to say that I would want to eat it!
6:48
pm
I love asparagus. We saute it in a little olive oil, butter and garlic until just crisp. Then I sprinkle season salt and toasted sesame seeds over the top and serve.
8:48
pm
We do something very similar to 52’s recipe.
Brilliant minds do think alike, me thinks! (and I also wholeheartedly agree with him on the salt thing! :thumbsup:)
I planted asparagus one year. Next (the first) year they came up in great proliferation. I could hardly contain myself from cutting them. My gardening parents said NO! Next fall we started rehabbing our house and the contractor parked his tractor on the very top of my asparagus bed. The following spring..that second spring when you could HARVEST? Not one single stalk of asparagus. I was heartbroken, to say the least.
Here’s to the asparagus fanatics of the world!
abb
8:49
pm
That should have been:
Guess I can’t put ()’s around it!
Oh well!
abb
12:35
am
Try roasting them. MMMMMM… so so good!
12:36
am
Oh and
Yes, Mental P Mama, I do know what you are talking about! We have the same problem here. But it’s totally worth it isn’t it?! 
4:54
pm
I’m making this for dinner! Yum!
Okay, I didn’t grow the asparagus, but I got it at the Farmer’s Market, and it looks gooooooooood!
4:45
pm
We’re crazy about asparagus!
We made some roasted asparagus for breakfast today!
Great minds think alike!
I love all your happy faces, they’re so fun!!!
I should go now before this gets annoying.
9:13
am
OMG! I can’t believe I clicked on the asparagus recipe on Modern Beet and found you, Suzanne! It’s Val Taylor, from RWA and genie. How long have you been blogging?
Moi, about six months — and last week the local alternative newspaper named my blog the best in Cincinnati.
I’ll have to try your asparagus recipe — mine will be coming up in another month, and I can’t wait!
12:35
pm
We planted 500 asparagus crowns back in 2002. We LOVE asparagus!
We eat it fresh, freeze it and can it.
Anywho…
A wonderful “sauce” of sorts…to have with your fresh asparagus is:
Equal parts Miracle Whip and Mayonnaise, with a few drops of liquid smoke…stir thoroughly. This is an amazing comliment to asparagus. Try it!
We love asparagus cut into 1/2 pieces, sauted a few minutes in butter and salt, then added to scrambled eggs. Something about the asparagus really adds flavor to the eggs.
And…finally…we also love creamed asparagus. Cook fresh asparagus as usual(cut into bite size pieces). Then, in a small saucepan, make a “cream” of milk heated til hot, then add equal parts flour and sugar to thicken the milk. Stir, stir, stir til thick. Add salt and pepper to taste, and throw in the cooked asparagus. Yummy!
Carla
Missouri
2:40
pm
Those look really good. IS THERE such a thing as too much salt? Personally, I LOVE salt.
4:07
pm
I made this last night…I had to sub, so I know it would be even better, had I had FRESH Asparagus. I used a small can I had…but did all the steps. I also didn’t have onion salt, just onion powder and was out of sea salt, so used regular, but it was VERY Good. I also used McCormick season all. I can’t wait to do it with fresh sometime and maybe by then I will have the onion salt AND sea salt again. Ha!