Asparagus season

Now that asparagus season is here and it's a dollar a pound or less, what are you making?

Last Saturday, I simply broiled the entire bunch very lightly with some olive oil, salt & pepper, fresh thyme and a little shredded parm. It was delicious with a little squeeze of lemon.
Tonight, I'm trying soup. I'm following this recipe since it seemed like it would keep at room temperature and I'm still brownbagging to work. I decided some Polish smoked sausage would be good so we'll see.

How are others eating asparagus?

I make a tahini sauce to pour over it. It calls for 2 tablespoons tahini, 2 medium cloves garlic, minced, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 C warm water, and 1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice. You put everything in a blender and process until smooth.

I never buy asparagus at the grocery store. I grew up on a fruit farm in Michigan, and even though we did not grow asparagus, we could get it fresh picked that day. Fresh picked asparagus is way better. The Evanston farmer's market is tentatively scheduled to open up on 5/2, and hopefully most of the other farmer's markets will open up in May too including Green City. Most weeks at the Evanston market, I buy my asparagus from 1st Orchards. They sell bunches of asparagus which contain over two pounds for $4. I know it is more expensive than what Jewel is selling it for, but Jewel loses money when they sell it for $1 a pound to bring people into the store. Asparagus season around here usually starts the beginning of May and lasts for six weeks. Hope this helps, Nancy

I'm mostly just sautéing it -- a little butter and olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice. But really taking advantage of the low price and eating more than usual.

BrendanR wrote:I'm following this recipe since it seemed like it would keep at room temperature and I'm still brownbagging to work. I decided some Polish smoked sausage would be good so we'll see.

This was sort of funny so I'll share. I made that soup recipe last night and followed the instructions pretty closely but I thought a touch of smoked meat might perk it up a bit. Luckily, I had some smoked Polish sausage (Alex's Deli) onhand so I cut off about a 6" chunk and cut it up into soup appropriate pieces. After the onions and garlic were finished, I carefully stirred in the asparagus and sausage with the broth, a mix of boxed and Knorr, but completely overlooked the fact that it would later go into the blender. I suppose I could have picked through and got some of that cooked down sausage out by hand but I didn't and just blended the whole thing. When the soup seemed almost finished, I put in some fresh broccoli florets and turned everything off when they were just short of just right. Really good soup, one of the best work lunches I've had in weeks.

Edit: The tahini idea sounds really good. It's on the top of my list.

Picking up more asparagus, I noted that there are two formats -- open and in bunches, or carefully shrink wrapped. It is the open asparagus that is $1/lb. The trimmed and wrapped asparagus is, I believe, $3/lb. So the bargain is for those who don't mind washing and cooking the veg., while those who are more concerned can opt for food no other shoppers have touched.

Tonight’s dinner = handful of asparagus sautéed in olive oil topped with a bunch of Parmesan and fried eggs. Quite good if I may say so.

It was 69 cents a pound at Shop & Save across from Superdawg yesterday. I got four bunches. Two are for soup (on the stove now) and the other two will probably just be broiled again, at least one with the tahini mentioned upthread. They're not the slimmest, most tender spears but the tips aren't black and rotten, either.

Hi,

I prefer thick asparagus. I cut off perhaps an inch at the bottom. Peel the stem. I boil salted water in a 10- or 12-inch frying pan. Once the asparagus is in and the water returns to boil, then it is five minutes.

Sometimes some asparagus finishes faster than others. If a spear is lifted in the center and has a gentle curve, it is finished.

I am going to make a batch of soup and hope the family likes it.

Regards,
Cathy2