How to Cook Asparagus
Asparagus can be a very versatile side dish as they are good with salads, pasta, pizza, frittatas, and a lot of other dishes. 5-Minute Crafts brings you 5 methods on how you can cook your asparagus.
First thing you need to do:
Before cooking the asparagus, you need to make sure you trim them. Cut the tough ends which are about 1/4 of the asparagus. They are woody and usually white in color. A good way to know how to cut in the right place is to bend one of them until it breaks and cut the others at the same level.
Make sure to not cut them too short or you will be wasting the good parts of the asparagus.
5 different methods to cook asparagus:
Method 1: Blanched
1. Boil some water in a pot.
2. Place the asparagus in the boiling water.
3. Cover the pot and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the asparagus).
4. Take them out and let them drain.
5. Put them in some ice-cold water.
6. Serve them immediately like this as a side dish.
Method 2: Steamed
1. Add some water to a skillet or pan, let it boil. The water only needs to cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Put the asparagus spears in a steaming basket on top of the skillet or pan.
3. Put the lid on and let them cook for 3 minutes.
4. Toss them with some butter, salt, and pepper.
Method 3: Grilled
1. Heat a large grill pan.
2. Dry grill the asparagus on both sides until they are nicely marked.
3. Once ready, put them on plates, and add a good squeeze of lemon juice and 3 times as much olive oil.
4. Serve them with salt, pepper, and some grated Parmesan.
Method 4: Roasted
1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Line a tray with foil or baking paper.
3. Put the asparagus spears on the tray.
4. Add some olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Roast for 10 minutes.
6. Serve them with creamy pasta or risotto.
Method 5: Stir fry
1. Heat some olive oil in a nonstick skillet or wok, over high heat.
2. Add the asparagus and some salt and pepper.
3. Stir often while it cooks for 3 minutes.
4. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
5. Cook it for another 3 minutes.
6. It’s ready to be served with some chicken, for example.