Ahhh Asparagus.  It’s such a wonderful spring vegetable.  Loaded with nutrients such as Vitamin K, C and folate, as well as potassium, fiber and phytochemicals.  This perennial plant shoots up in the spring for just a month or two and then it is gone for the year.

It is easy to grow in your garden but it does take a dedicated area that cannot be planted with anything else.  If you don’t have room or the desire to grow asparagus then look for it in the stores.  Grab some asparagus fresh from your grocery store, farmer’s market or roadside stand while it’s available.  Here are some tips for cooking asparagus and a few of my favorite ways to prepare it.

Tips for cooking Asparagus…

• When selecting asparagus look for firm, bright green spears.  Avoid any that are limp or have mushy tips.
• For the most tender stalks, snap off the bottom of the spear where it naturally wants to break.  Just bend the asparagus on the bottom third of your stalk.  It will usually snap where the tender part begins to grow.
• Save those bottom pieces.  You can use them to make a nice vegetable broth.  Bag and freeze them if you’re not ready to make a pot of soup.  Otherwise just throw the ends into the compost.
• As you rinse the stalks, check the tiny scales for dirt or sand.  In general, this is not a problem but occasionally you might find a bunch that was grown in a sandy area.  If this is the case, use a vegetable peeler to just remove the scales.  Then rinse thoroughly.  Be sure that you rinse the tips well to remove any sand.  Alternately, if your spears are sandy you can cover them with cold water for a couple of minutes and then rinse them.
• Try to cook with similar size pieces.  If you cook large fat stalks with thin pieces, some will be overcooked while other stalks could be under cooked.  So when you shop look for uniformity of sizes.  Thin stalks work well for stir-frying while the thicker stalks are meatier and work well in the oven.  You can cook the medium stalks just about any way.
• You might want to use your vegetable peeler to remove the skin on the thicker stalks.  Just peel the bottom third of your asparagus.  Medium and thin stalks do not need to be peeled.
• You can freeze extra asparagus so that you have a stash to last awhile.  Prepare the asparagus for cooking.  Then give them a quick blanch.  Just immerse the asparagus stalks in boiling water and boil for 3 mins.  Remove from the boiling water and put them in a bowl of ice water to chill.  Take them out and dry with a paper towel.  Lay your asparagus on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze.  Once frozen, put them in a ziploc bag and return to the freezer.  Now you can remove the number of spears needed per meal.

How to grill Asparagus

Grilled asparagus is so simple.  Prepare your asparagus as noted above and then follow these steps.

1. Drizzle your asparagus with a teaspoon or two of olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Place in a grill basket onto your preheated grill.  Or you can place directly onto the grill top.  However if you are not careful your spears will fall between the grates.
3. Grill for about 7-10 minutes.  Turn periodically so that all sides get brown.
4. Drizzle with a little lemon juice and lemon zest.
5. Serve and enjoy!

How to roast Asparagus

1. Place your prepared asparagus onto a roasting pan, cookie sheet or baking dish.  Drizzle with a teaspoon or two of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add some thinly sliced garlic on top.
2. Place in a preheated oven 450 degrees.
3. Roast for about 8-10 minutes until tender.

How to saute Asparagus

1. Cut up your asparagus into 2 inch pieces.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet.  Add asparagus pieces.
3. Stir frequently on medium heat until pieces are tender but not mushy.

To have the freshest vegetables it is best to eat as seasonably as possible.  Asparagus is most flavorful and tender if you enjoy it in the spring when it is locally harvested.  You can usually buy imported asparagus year round, but it’s not as flavorful.  We try to enjoy this freshly harvested vegetable as much as possible in May and June because we know that it won’t be around for long.  I hope that you will give one of these recipes a try and soon you won’t be able to get enough of it.