Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables and can be prepared in very tasty ways, such as today’s soup, risotto and vinaigrette recipes. Before trying them, read this 101 guide to asparagus.
Selecting and storing
The best asparagus will have tightly closed tips and smooth, straight, firm spears. The cut ends should not be dry and shriveled, both signs the asparagus is old or was improperly stored. For the finest flavour, cook asparagus the day of purchase. However, it could be stored, sealed in a plastic bag, in your refrigerator crisper three to four days.
What is white asparagus?
White asparagus is grown covered with soil or other material. The lack of sunlight retards the development of chlorophyll and prevents it from turning green. Because white asparagus grows like a root vegetable, its flesh develops a sweeter, milder flavour.
White asparagus can be steamed, simmered or braised, but its root-like characteristics require a longer cooking time than green asparagus.
How to ready for cooking
Asparagus is grown in silty soil, so rinse the spears well under cool water before using. To ready green asparagus for cooking, hold the spear in one hand, with 7.5 to 10 centimetres of the root end sticking out. Use your other hand to bend the root end until it snaps off its natural breaking point. You can keep the root end, if it’s not too tough, to use in soup, or compost it.
White asparagus’s somewhat brittle spears are prone to breaking in the wrong spot if over handled. That’s why it’s better to use a sharp knife to trim off the tough lower portions, rather than trying to snap them off. White asparagus has a thicker, tougher skin than green asparagus, which is why it’s often peeled before cooking.
Where to buy
At many food stores, green asparagus, imported from around the world, is available just about year round. Fresh white asparagus can be harder to find, but you should be able to purchase it at supermarkets and specialty food stores focused on offering a fine array of produce.
In April, May and June green asparagus harvested closer to home becomes available. It’s grown in Washington state and in B.C., in places such as the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan Valley.
Green asparagus is also grown on Vancouver Island. Two places selling it directly from the farm are Madrona Farm, 4317 Blenkinsop Rd., Victoria, and Pedrosa’s Asparagus Farm, 1550 Robson Ln., Cowichan Bay. For hours of operation and to find out when the asparagus will be available, visit the Madrona Farm website at madronafarm.co and call Pedrosa’s Asparagus Farm, where asparagus will be available later this month, at 1-250-733-0700.
White and Green Asparagus Soup with Blue Cheese
The fine creation is made by swirling slices of bright green asparagus into a puréed white asparagus soup. For added richness, nuggets of blue cheese are set in each bowl of soup. If you don’t care for blue cheese, simply omit it from the recipe.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 30 minutes
Makes: About six (1 cup) servings
1 lb. white asparagus
2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups cubed yellow-fleshed potatoes
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
8 green asparagus, tough lower stems trimmed, spears cut at a slight angle into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and blanched (see Note)
• salt and white pepper to taste
100 grams blue cheese, pulled into small nuggets
Cut off and discard about one inch off the tough root end of each white asparagus spear. Set one spear on a work surface. Using a sharp, swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting about 1 1/2 inches from the tip of the spear, carefully peel off the skin. Peel remaining asparagus this way. Now cut each spear into two inch pieces and set in a bowl.
Melt the butter, or place the oil, in a pot set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about four to five minutes. Add the stock, cut white asparagus, potatoes and tarragon and bring to a simmer. Simmer the soup 15 minutes, or until white asparagus and potatoes are very tender. Purée the soup in a food processor or blender, or in the pot with an immersion blender.
Return the soup to a simmer, mix in the blanched slices of green asparagus, and heat them through two minutes or so. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a few nuggets of the blue cheese.
Note: To blanch the green asparagus, plunge into boiling water one minute. Drain well, cool in ice-cold water, and drain well again.
White and Green Asparagus Vinaigrette
This white and green asparagus side dish is made even more eye and palate appealing by drizzling on red pepper-flecked vinaigrette. Try serving it, perhaps for Easter dinner, alongside roast lamb, baked ham or poached salmon.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 13 minutes
Makes: 8 servings
For the vinaigrette
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp herbes de Provence (see Note)
2 Tbsp white wine or rice vinegar
• pinch sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Place the mustard, herbes de Provence, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. While whisking, slowly mix in the oil. Mix in the red bell pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Vinaigrette can be made several hours in advance.
For the asparagus
1 lb. white asparagus
1 lb. green asparagus, tough lower stems cut or snapped off
Cut off and discard about one inch off the tough root end of each white asparagus spear. Set one spear on a work surface. Using a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting about 1 1/2 inches from the tip of the spear, carefully peel off the skin. (Take care when doing this. The spear can be brittle and might snap in the middle if too roughly handled.) Peel remaining asparagus this way.
Set the white asparagus in a large, wide, deep skillet or pot and cover with cold water. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Adjust heat downward to maintain that gentle simmer. Cook until asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes.
When cooked, drain the hot water from the pan. Now fill the pan with ice-cold water. When the asparagus is cold, drain well, and then set on a kitchen towel to dry.
To cook the green asparagus, refill the skillet or pot used to cook the white asparagus with water. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the green asparagus and boil until bright green and just tender, about two to four minutes.
When cooked, drain the hot water from the pan. Now fill the pan with ice-cold water. When the asparagus is cold, drain well, and then set on a kitchen towel to dry.
Arrange the white and green asparagus in a shallow-sided serving dish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Asparagus can be made to this point several hours in advance.)
To serve, give the vinaigrette a stir to ensure its well blended, and then spoon over the asparagus. Allow the flavours to meld at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, and then enjoy the asparagus.
Note: Herbs de Provence is a French-style blend of dried herbs available in the bottled herb and spice aisle of most supermarkets.
> See RISOTTO, page C3
Lemony Prawns on Asparagus Risotto for Two
If you’re in need of a special dinner to serve a loved one this combination of succulent prawns and almost creamy risotto should do. Before you start making the risotto, make sure your prawns are peeled and ready to cook and the asparagus is blanched. It will be hard to do those tasks while trying to stir the risotto at the same time.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes: Two servings
For the risotto
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup risotto rice (see Note 1)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup white wine
8 green asparagus, tough lower stems trimmed, spears cut at a slight angle into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and blanched (see Note 2)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and white pepper taste
Pour the stock into a small to medium pot and set over medium-low heat.
Pour the oil into a second small to medium pot and set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to that pot and cook until softened, about three to four minutes. Add the rice and oregano and cook and stir two to three minutes more.
Pour in the wine and simmer until it is almost fully absorbed by the rice. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, adjusting the heat so that the liquid very gently bubbles, and cook and occasionally stir until the stock is almost fully absorbed by the rice. Add the remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, making the next addition when the rice has almost fully absorbed the last, and cook until the rice is tender. You may not need all the stock. (The cooking process should take about 25 to 30 minutes.)
Stir in the asparagus and cheese. Remove risotto from the heat, cover and let stand five minutes. While it does, cook the prawns.
For the prawns and to finish
10 large prawns or shrimp
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, minced
• pinch crushed chili flakes
1 to 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• lemon slices, for garnish
• olive oil for drizzling
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Hold the tail of one prawn in one hand and slip the thumb of your other hand under the shell between its swimmerets (little legs). Pull off the shell, leaving the very bottom portion of the tail intact. Use a small paring knife to make a lengthwise slit along the back of the prawn. Pull out, or rinse out with cold water, the dark vein. Repeat these steps with the other prawns, and then pat them dry with paper towel.
Set a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the prawns, lemon juice, garlic and chili flakes. Cook the prawns, turning them once, for three to four minutes, or until bright pink and just cooked through.
To serve, make a mound of the risotto on each of two heated plates. Arrange five prawns on and around the risotto on each plate, ensuring the juices in the pan come for the ride. Sprinkle the green onions on the risotto and garnish with lemon slices. Drizzle and sprinkling each serving with a little olive oil and Parmesan cheese and enjoy.
Note 1: Risotto rice is sold in bags or boxes in the rice aisle of most supermarkets.
You also find it at stores specializing in Italian foods. It is sometimes labelled by the variety of rice it is, such as arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano.
Note 2: To blanch the asparagus, plunge into boiling water one minute. Drain well, cool in ice-cold water, and drain well again.
Eric Akis is the author of Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.