Sauteed Asparagus Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to cook and eat asparagus? ›

Asparagus is great quickly stir-fried or sautéed over high heat. You could sauté spears in butter or olive oil with delicious results, but throwing some chopped herbs or sliced chiles into the pan adds wonderful flavor. Both of these methods produce juicy asparagus that retains its crunch.

You don't need to "blanch" it (i.e., quickly boil it) before cooking. The heat of the skillet, a little bit of oil and salt, and about 10 minutes are all you need to cook tender asparagus perfectly.

Asparagus develops a rich flavor when roasted, making this one of the most popular ways to eat the vegetable.

I trim the ends and then rinse the stalks and let them sit in cold water for five minutes. It hydrates the asparagus, and they cook more quickly, for they are already wet with some moisture within them. Do not soak them for thirty minutes, you are not trying to get them soggy.

The truth is that the bend-and-snap method can actually waste delicious asparagus. Where a stalk breaks depends on the overall thickness of the stalk (skinny stalks are more flexible), how you bend it, and even how fresh the asparagus is (super-fresh asparagus tends to be more rigid).

Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture, taste, colour and nutritional value of asparagus deteriorates. Make sure you blanch or cook the veg first to preserve these elements.

Roasting intensifies the taste but sacrifices some of the brightness. So here's the simple method I borrowed from restaurant kitchens: Parcook the spears, then quickly saute them in a small amount of olive oil. With a quick sprinkling of salt and pepper, it's done.

Asparagus contains an enzyme that creates a woody compound called "lignin," at the end of each spear. Lignin is not softened by heat, so it remains fibrous and tough after cooking. To eliminate lignin, snap (don't cut) the end of each spear just before cooking.

Because it only takes a few minutes to cook, keep a close eye on it to avoid soggy, limp stems as the outcome. To avoid overcooking, take it out of the oven or off the stove a minute or so before you think it's done. Another way to prevent overcooking is to shock the asparagus in an ice bath.

Should asparagus be crunchy or soft? ›

Fortunately, there's no wrong answer—it's all about personal preference. Thin asparagus is tender with a slightly crisp center; thick asparagus has a meatier center meaning more crunch and texture. Just make sure to select uniformly sized spears for even cooking.

Soggy asparagus is usually the result of overcooking.

To reap the greatest health benefits, consider incorporating both cooked and raw asparagus into your diet. That said, from a nutritional standpoint, you can't go wrong with either option.

Be sure to trim off any tough or white ends. You only cook the asparagus until it is tender and crisp. Steaming or microwaving are better cooking methods than boiling, and asparagus can also be stir-fried, roasted, broiled, or grilled.

The entire stalk of asparagus is edible, the experts say.