Butter-Braised Asparagus

Another thing to do, is to take the discarded parts. Zap them in the microwave and puree it. Add butter and some spice and serve along side as a buttery sauce.

Julia Child recommended peeling one's medium and large asparagus spears. One important change you can make it to NOT break off the spears. I line them up and cut about 1/2 inch off the shortest spear and size all the others to that size. After peeling, the part that is .normally discarded is often the best part of the spear. The peeling is quite easy if you buy one of the recommended asparagus peelers from Amazon.com. I love fresh asparagus in the springtime.

I like this braising method of preparation. My trick for peeling the stalks is to flatten them down with one hand on a cutting board and shave the peels with the other hand into a plastic bag in the sink. Roll the stalk to peel all sides. Also, I find butter, salt and pepper is enough seasoning, although fresh sage on them in addition is quite good.

Why remove the tough ends? Don't they contain water soluble nutrients? Why not cook them whole and then, depending on whether it's for a presentation or just the family, trim before serving?

I used to be a peeler, à la Julia. However, I learned to braise them using Patricia Wells' method. Cut or break at weakest point; wash but do not dry; melt 2-3 TB butter for 1½ lbs asparagus in a sauté pan over medium heat; add asparagus & shake pan until they fall into a single row; raise heat to sizzle; season with sea salt & pepper; rotate with a spatula & shake pan so they cook evenly; reduce heat; cook an additional 8-10 min. until you can pierce thick ends with a knife.

I break off the tough ends and put them in a plastic bag with the stalk peelings. Then I freeze them and throw them into the pot (with carrot peelings too) when I make broth with a chicken carcass.

"Cook until the asparagus is firm-tender, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook them; they should still be bright green." Reflecting on that instruction, what I would do is carefully lift the asparagus out of the skillet and place them in ice water for a minute...to stop the cooking and keep them bright green and just "al dente," as I prefer my veggies. Then reheat them just before serving, using the heated sasuce over them...mmm!

This was so quick and easy, I made it two nights in a row, once as a complement to scrambled eggs and again with a millet souffle. With asparagus arriving in big bunches at the farmers market, I'll be making this often. With ramps also in season, I swapped out snipped chives for the most delicately flavored members of the allium family. Pair with gruner veltliner.

Made this with green beans instead of the asparagus and adjusted the cooking time slightly to match the new greens — turned out great!

It is easy to overcook asparagus missing the firmness to bite that is necessary for a true and tasteful asparagus experience. A very good way to avoid this or at least give yourself a "window" on correct firmness is to bring a pan/pot of water to boil then place prepared asparagus in the water, cover and remove from heat. in a pot, depending on quantity, the asparagus will be ready in about 7-8 minutes but you will have about a 5 minute "window" to drain and enjoy perfectly prepared asparagus.

Bring water to a boil, add the asparagus and bring it to a second boil. Then shut off the heat. Let sit till done, about 10 minutes, if that. It'll still be a bright green but you can lift the asparagus by one end and and it'll bend itself into an nice arc. Then remove it from the pan. Its hard to overcook that way. Kinda like french-press coffee. It cools off before its overdone. After that you can go to step 3.

Don't discard ends! Any of the procedures mentioned, or freeze and accumulated for a brilliant vegetable stock to use in risotto with -- of course -- asparagus tips.

Perfect recipe (and great way to use the herbs I grow on my back porch!). Served this with Sautéed Lamb Chops With Ramps, Anchovy, Capers and Olives (another David Tanis recipe) and Roasted New Potatoes. Special Saturday evening dinner for two!

Totally agree Ed. to the peeling and seasoning. To me asparagus is the cadilac of vegetables and the less done to them the better. But a squirt of lemon is good too, tho not necessary

This is a simple and elegant dish that I will cook again; however, next time I will use a bit less butter as I really just want a hint of the buttery flavor and not so much fatty coating on my asparagus.