Featured Ingredient: Asparagus

This seems to be a good year for asparagus. A couple weeks ago, my mom brought me asparagus from her Michigan garden, really nice stalks from a relatively new bed in a place where growing things is always at least a little bit difficult. Even though the snows were reluctant to leave us this spring, it seemed like the asparagus was in the farmer’s market earlier than usual. There was so much of it left at the late-ish hour that I arrived last weekend, that I said to one of my favorite vendors that, well, it seems to be a good year for asparagus. He replied that it was practically growing faster than he could harvest it. Music to my ears! The Messy Apron Archives are well-equipped to handle this embarrassment of riches. This Asparagusto, if you will.

For years, Sesame Soy Asparagus with Garlic and Ginger was the first thing I would make each time I could get some asparagus in the spring, and I still love to make it. Now, however, I think this Asparagus and Pasta with Balsamic Tarragon Sauce and Bacon is my favorite, and I can’t wait to make it when the time comes.

Asparagus is great in other tossed pasta dishes too, like this Pasta with Asparagus, Snap Peas and Lemon, which can be endlessly varied depending on what you have on hand.

It’s also not to be left out of baked pasta dishes, like this Baked Pasta with Cheese and Spring Vegetables.

While asparagus is usually enjoyed in a cooked state, I happen to love it raw, finely sliced or chopped and added to salads, like this Spring Vegetable Tabbouleh. (I recently stirred some finely sliced asparagus into an otherwise classic pasta salad, too, which was very good.) It can also be blanched or steamed and chilled for use in salads, such as this Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Asparagus and Peas.

Salads and pastas don’t get all the fun, though, especially since asparagus is such a good addition to stir fried dishes. I recently made a refrigerator-cleaning stir fry with arugula from my patio garden, baby bok choy from the farmer’s market, and plenty of asparagus. There’s also this recipe: Seitan Stir Fry with Asparagus, Green Beans and Black Bean Garlic Sauce.

And finally, I love this Asparagus Flatbread with Age Gouda and Hazelnuts, the most complex recipe in this list. The combination of flavors is wonderful, a celebration of asparagus, but also a celebration of being a decent cook and food lover, if you want to spend some well-rewarded time in the kitchen.

 

Asparagus season may be fleeting, but right now, there seems to be enough of it practically at my fingertips to indulge with reckless abandon. Ok, maybe that’s a bit much, but all of the above recipes are certainly something to get excited about. There are more recipes out there to try, too (I really want to get a spring vegetable risotto featuring asparagus on my table), so I hope the asparagus keeps coming!

One year ago: Rhubarb Pudding Cake