TOP 4 simple recipes with photos of delicious asparagus dishes at home. Culinary tricks, selection rules and cooking secrets. Video recipes.
Asparagus is a fairly new product for our housewives. Therefore, not many people know how to cook it. But the dishes made from it differ in a huge variety. It can be combined with many products. It is added to vegetable, meat and fish salads, stews, soups, baked pies, sauces, added to pizza, canned … Often asparagus is simply blanched and served as an independent garnish with sauce.
There are 2 types of asparagus: white and green. The first one grows underground, therefore it is white. Its shoots are softer than green fruits that stretch towards the sun. White asparagus is rare in our country, but green asparagus is found and sold in every supermarket. Plus, it's much more useful. Green asparagus contains vitamins A, group B, C, K, E, folic acid. There are also trace elements: selenium, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, calcium. Its regular use cleanses the body of toxins and toxins, improves the functioning of the heart, blood vessels and the process of hematopoiesis. In addition, it is low in calories, 100 g contains only 20 kC. Therefore, the plant is suitable for those who monitor weight or want to lose extra pounds. Another of the advantages of this product is the minimum cooking time.
Culinary Tricks and Secrets of Cooking Asparagus
Before you start preparing delicious dishes with asparagus, you should learn some simple tips to help you choose a fresh and healthy product. Considering all the subtleties, a healthy and mouth-watering culinary masterpiece made from this original plant will appear on the table.
How to choose asparagus?
Inspect the asparagus before purchasing. One of the hallmarks of its quality is its bright green tint. The tips are always tightly closed and do not release seeds. Ideal stems are round, firm and dense. They should not be ribbed or flat, soft or wilted. Young shoots of the plant are thinner, 15-16 cm long, which means they cook faster. Fresh asparagus is odorless. Old shoots are tough and tasteless, they are not eaten.
How to prepare asparagus properly?
Asparagus can be boiled, baked in the oven, or stewed in a skillet. She prepares as quickly as possible. The ideal ready-made asparagus is crunchy and has a bright green color. If overcooked, the product will go bad. The fruits will become too soft, wilted and not appetizing. After heat treatment, the plant can be eaten alone or added to other dishes.
How to peel asparagus stalks before cooking?
Professional French chefs recommend peeling asparagus before cooking. But this is not necessary, but depending on taste preferences. However, it is better to peel the asparagus. Firstly, its skin is hard to chew, and secondly, the shoots can cook unevenly. Unpeeled stems take longer to cook, and during this time they can turn into gruel inside.
To peel the asparagus, work from the middle of the shoots down to the thicker part, peeling the plant from the skin. A potato peeler is ideal for cleaning a plant.
How to cook asparagus?
Wash the peeled asparagus and fold into bunches of 6-8 pcs. At the bottom, cut the fruits 2 cm so that the stems are the same length. Tie the bundles with a thread or a sprig of greenery. Boil salted water and add a few lemon wedges. Place the asparagus bunches vertically, tips up, and cook for 5 minutes. This method helps the fruit to cook evenly, because the tender tops cook faster than the thicker parts of the stem, and the steam is sufficient for them.
You can boil the asparagus in a double boiler, so the fruits will be even healthier. Also common is the method of cooking - blanching, in which the stems are boiled for about 5 minutes in boiling salted water. The asparagus should be covered with water 3 cm higher.
After boiling the asparagus in any way, fold the plant into a colander and rinse with ice water to maintain a beautiful emerald color and all the vitamins. Dry the product with a towel.
How to bake asparagus in the oven?
Trim the peeled stems as in preparing the shoots for cooking. Grease a baking sheet with a little oil. Spread the fruits on it in an even layer at a short distance from each other. Season with salt, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Send to bake in a heated oven up to 180 ° С for 15-20 minutes or up to 220 ° С for 10 minutes.
How to stew asparagus in a pan?
Cooking asparagus in a pan is not the healthiest, but delicious way. Heat a thick-bottomed skillet with butter or vegetable oil. Arrange the prepared stems whole or cut diagonally. Fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Salad with asparagus, tuna and cheese
Asparagus is great for any salad. It is paired with a variety of foods, from salmon and jamon to melon and pineapple. In salads, only the tops of the stems are usually used, because they are softer and have a delicate taste.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 113 kcal.
- Servings - 2
- Cooking time - 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Green asparagus - 50 g
- Canned tuna in its own juice - 100 g
- Feta cheese - 50 g
- Ground black pepper - pinch or to taste
- Balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- Olive oil - 1 tablespoon for refueling
- Mix of lettuce leaves - 150 g
- Tomatoes - 1 pc.
- Salt - pinch or to taste
Cooking salad with asparagus, tuna and cheese:
1. Prepare the asparagus in any convenient way described above: boil, bake or stew. Cut the prepared chilled stems obliquely into 2 cm pieces.
2. Wash lettuce leaves, dry with a towel and pick by hand in any shape.
3. Wash the tomatoes, dry with a towel and cut into wedges.
4. Remove the tuna from the jar and cut into medium slices.
5. Cut feta cheese or any other favorite variety into medium slices.
6. Combine the food in a deep bowl, salt and pepper.
7. Season salad with asparagus, tuna and cheese with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and stir.
Asparagus cream soup
Delicious, satisfying, and at the same time light - asparagus cream soup. To prepare such a dish, pre-boiled asparagus is used. But with baked asparagus, the soup will turn out to be more spicy. The cream soup can be left vegetarian or smoked salmon slices, seafood, duck fillets, etc. can be added.
Ingredients:
- Green asparagus - 800 g
- Potatoes - 300 g
- Shallots - 1 pc.
- Broth (vegetable or meat to taste) - 800 ml
- Dry white wine - 150 ml
- Cream 10-20% - 150 ml
- Olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
- Ground black pepper - pinch or to taste
Making Asparagus Cream Soup:
1. Peel and cut potatoes into medium-sized cubes.
2. Using all the tips in the recipe above, boil the asparagus 2 minutes less than usual.
3. Lightly chop the shallots and fry in a heated skillet with olive oil until clarified.
4. Add potatoes to the onion and fry the food over medium heat, stirring for 7-8 minutes.
5. Transfer the food to a cooking pot, pour in the wine and let it evaporate.
6. Then add vegetable broth, salt, pepper and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
7. 5 minutes before cooking add asparagus to the food, boil and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes.
8. When vegetables are ready, immerse in blender and chop until creamy.
9. Add the cream to the asparagus cream soup, stir and heat. Serve on bowls and garnish with boiled asparagus tops.
Asparagus and cheese pie
Asparagus baked goods can be baked on any basis. Shortcrust pastry or puff pastry is ideal for pies. The latter, to simplify the work, can be bought ready-made in the supermarket.
Ingredients:
- Asparagus - 500 g
- Frozen fresh puff pastry - 1 layer (250 g)
- Flour - 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
- Hard cheese - 100 g
- Shallots - 0.5 stalks
- Eggs - 2 pcs.
- Olive oil - for frying
- Milk - 5 tablespoons
- Finely grated lemon zest - 0.5 tsp
- Salt - 0.5 tsp or to taste
- Ground black pepper - a pinch
Making a pie with asparagus and cheese:
1. Bake the asparagus in the oven as described above.
2. Roll out a dough 25x40 cm in size, 3-5 mm thick on a working surface with flour.
3. Place the dough on a baking sheet and pierce the entire surface with a fork.
4. Send the dough to a preheated oven to 180 ° C and bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Then cool slightly.
5. Cut the shallots into rings and grate the cheese. Stir the products and combine with eggs and milk.
6. Spread the filling evenly over the dough.
7. Stir the asparagus with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on top of the pie.
8. Send the asparagus and cheese pie to bake until golden brown for 15-20 minutes at 200 ° C. At the end of baking, sprinkle with lemon zest.
Asparagus garnish with rice
Asparagus and rice garnish is an easy-to-prepare dish with a rich taste. This is a great dish for fasting and vegetarians for a variety of everyday meals. Although the side dish is suitable for all eaters on ordinary days with fish, meat, seafood, chicken …
Ingredients:
- Rice - 200 g
- Onions - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Asparagus - 200 g
- Red bell pepper - 1 pc.
- Olive oil - 3 tablespoons
- Sesame seeds - 1 pinch
- Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
- Ground black pepper - a pinch
- Teriyaki sauce - 1 tablespoon
Preparing the asparagus garnish with rice:
1. Rinse the rice in several waters until transparent, put it in a thick-bottomed saucepan, pour in water, close the lid and send it to the stove. After boiling, turn the heat to the minimum setting and cook it under the lid for 10 minutes until the water is completely absorbed. Then turn off the stove and leave for 10 minutes without removing the lid.
2. Peel the onion, wash and chop finely into cubes.
3. Boil the asparagus in salted water until tender and cut into 2 cm pieces.
4. Peel the bell peppers from the seeds with partitions and cut into strips.
5. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
6. Pour olive oil into a skillet and heat. Send onions, peppers and garlic to it. Saute vegetables over medium heat for 3 minutes, uncovered, stirring constantly. Then add the asparagus and continue to fry the food for another 2 minutes.
7. Add teriyaki sauce to vegetables and stir.
8. Put the cooked rice in the pan with vegetables and stir again. Leave food covered for 5 minutes and remove from heat.
9. Put the finished asparagus and rice garnish on a plate, sprinkle with a pinch of sesame seeds.
Video recipes:
Vegetable and asparagus garnishes.
Spaghetti with asparagus.
