James Boelter
02-18-2007, 01:42 PM
- From "Cook's Illustrated" magazine
- Serves 2, unless the recipe turns you into an asparagus junkie.
- Time: 10 minutes
This is a nice, quick way to turn even out-of-season greenhouse asparagus into something that even an anti-veggie type might enjoy. Plus, it's basically a no-brainer, and you can prepare it in less time than it takes to get water boiling to steam or blanch/boil your vegetables.
Rationale: covering the stalks in the skillet for the first few minutes causes them to steam themselves in their own moisture, making them tender without getting soggy or limp. Then heating them uncovered carmelizes them and crisps them up.
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1) Set a non-stick 10-12 inch skillet on medium high heat for 3 minutes. (This "preheat" helps close the pores on the teflon surface as the pan heats up and the teflon expands, making the pan even more "non-stick")
2) While the skillet is pre-heating, wash and trim the woody/fibrous ends from your bunch of asparagus. (Not necessary if they are less than pencil thick). Easiest way to do this is to take one stalk, bend it between your fingers (near the root end) until it snaps. Use a chefs' knife to trim the ends of the rest of the bunch using your sample stalk as a guide to length. You could peel the thick ends, of course, but then it wouldn't be "quick" any more, would it? Discard the trimmed ends.
3) Back to the skillet. Add a generous TB of olive oil (or EVOO if you insist) to the pan. If you feel like spoiling yourself, you can also add a Tb of unsalted butter to the skillet as well. Give the oil another 2-3 minutes to heat up and/or have the butter stop foaming.
4) Lay the trimmed stalks of asparagus in one layer in the skillet, half the stalks pointing one way in the "top" of the skillet, half the stalks pointing the other way in the "bottom" half. They may not quite fit all in one layer, this is fine.
5) Cover the skillet with a lid (preferably see through) for 3-5 minutes and let the stalks steam in their own juices and oil. 5 minutes should be enough, but a good visual clue will be that the stalks will turn bright green (oxygen in the cells being carried away by the steam, giving the stalks a higher refractive index).
6) Uncover the skillet, drop heat to medium, and let the stalks roast in the heat of the skillet for 2-3 minutes. (Technically this may be a saute, but CI called it a "roast" and who am I to argue?) You may want to use tongs to shuffle stalks in the center of the skillet to the outer edges of the skillet - and stalks on the outer edge to the center - to ensure that heat distribution is even. Visual cue that stalks are done is that they will turn brown on the bottom side. This means they are carmelizing, and carmelization is good. Add a pinch or two of kosher Salt and a few grinds of black pepper to taste.
4) Remove stalks from skillet and onto plates. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice would be really nice too. If you aren't careful, you may inhale the entire bunch yourself without meaning too. Or you may find yourself stabbing the backs of other diners' hands with your fork when they reach for the serving platter. So you better make two bunches worth if you have more than one companion at your table.
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I'm no Graham Kerr or Jacques Pepin, but this is nearly fool-proof. There's a lot of margin for error in this method and I've run through it about 10 times now with very good results. You can also try this trick with broccoli (put the peeled and quartered stems in a couple of minutes before you add the florets, though) or green beans or any other high moisture veggie. This is now my "go to" method for a quick snack in the afternoon or late evening.
- Serves 2, unless the recipe turns you into an asparagus junkie.
- Time: 10 minutes
This is a nice, quick way to turn even out-of-season greenhouse asparagus into something that even an anti-veggie type might enjoy. Plus, it's basically a no-brainer, and you can prepare it in less time than it takes to get water boiling to steam or blanch/boil your vegetables.
Rationale: covering the stalks in the skillet for the first few minutes causes them to steam themselves in their own moisture, making them tender without getting soggy or limp. Then heating them uncovered carmelizes them and crisps them up.
================================================== =====
1) Set a non-stick 10-12 inch skillet on medium high heat for 3 minutes. (This "preheat" helps close the pores on the teflon surface as the pan heats up and the teflon expands, making the pan even more "non-stick")
2) While the skillet is pre-heating, wash and trim the woody/fibrous ends from your bunch of asparagus. (Not necessary if they are less than pencil thick). Easiest way to do this is to take one stalk, bend it between your fingers (near the root end) until it snaps. Use a chefs' knife to trim the ends of the rest of the bunch using your sample stalk as a guide to length. You could peel the thick ends, of course, but then it wouldn't be "quick" any more, would it? Discard the trimmed ends.
3) Back to the skillet. Add a generous TB of olive oil (or EVOO if you insist) to the pan. If you feel like spoiling yourself, you can also add a Tb of unsalted butter to the skillet as well. Give the oil another 2-3 minutes to heat up and/or have the butter stop foaming.
4) Lay the trimmed stalks of asparagus in one layer in the skillet, half the stalks pointing one way in the "top" of the skillet, half the stalks pointing the other way in the "bottom" half. They may not quite fit all in one layer, this is fine.
5) Cover the skillet with a lid (preferably see through) for 3-5 minutes and let the stalks steam in their own juices and oil. 5 minutes should be enough, but a good visual clue will be that the stalks will turn bright green (oxygen in the cells being carried away by the steam, giving the stalks a higher refractive index).
6) Uncover the skillet, drop heat to medium, and let the stalks roast in the heat of the skillet for 2-3 minutes. (Technically this may be a saute, but CI called it a "roast" and who am I to argue?) You may want to use tongs to shuffle stalks in the center of the skillet to the outer edges of the skillet - and stalks on the outer edge to the center - to ensure that heat distribution is even. Visual cue that stalks are done is that they will turn brown on the bottom side. This means they are carmelizing, and carmelization is good. Add a pinch or two of kosher Salt and a few grinds of black pepper to taste.
4) Remove stalks from skillet and onto plates. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice would be really nice too. If you aren't careful, you may inhale the entire bunch yourself without meaning too. Or you may find yourself stabbing the backs of other diners' hands with your fork when they reach for the serving platter. So you better make two bunches worth if you have more than one companion at your table.
================================================== ======
I'm no Graham Kerr or Jacques Pepin, but this is nearly fool-proof. There's a lot of margin for error in this method and I've run through it about 10 times now with very good results. You can also try this trick with broccoli (put the peeled and quartered stems in a couple of minutes before you add the florets, though) or green beans or any other high moisture veggie. This is now my "go to" method for a quick snack in the afternoon or late evening.