Preparing Asparagus

Raw asparagus: tightly closed heads

After discussing asparagus in "Is It All in Our Heads," I wanted to share my two favorite and the most basic ways to prepare this green and gorgeous food.  First, the right asparagus has to be selected.  Fresh asparagus should be stored in water both at the grocer and at home.  Heads of fresh asparagus should be firm and tightly closed and the harder, white bottom, which will be discarded, should compose less than 20% of the spear.  The spears should stand on their own and not appear limp and, when squeezed gently, squeak.  Size really doesn't matter in this case and is simply a matter of taste and use.

Keep asparagus cool and the ends in water until ready to cook.  The white end will be discarded, so after washing, you will need to snap the ends of the spears.  This can be done individually by gently applying upward pressure to the two ends of the spear until it breaks, generally a few inches up from the bottom, or do one or two in this manner and then hold the bunch together and cut the spears with a knife in the general area where the sample pieces broke.  I frequently find that I can save more by snapping the pieces individually, and as it is not an arduous task, I generally take the extra minute.

Cooked asparagus should be bright green
and not yellowed.

Bake: Preheat the over to 400.  Spread the asparagus in a single layer across a baking sheet.  Drizzle with a few sweeps of EVOO and a little lemon juice.  Sprinkle on coarse kosher salt and black pepper.  If you like spice, add a dusting of cayenne.  Bake until spears are a brilliant green.

Sauté: Sauté a slice of onion in EVOO in the bottom of a large pan with a lid.  Add the asparagus and the juice of 1/2 lemon.  Add salt and pepper to taste and cayenne, if you like a kick.  Turn down the heat, cover, and allow the asparagus to slowly cook with the flavor of the onions until a bright green.

You can serve the asparagus warm or chill it in the juices in which it was cooked and then add it to a salad.

Asparagus is a great source of Vitamin A, C, and calcium. One cup supplies 66% of the RDA of folic acid, which is the second highest single source of folic acid next to orange juice, according to Washington Asparagus Commission.

Kids love to eat the bright, long, stalks with their fingers, but if the asparagus is even slightly tough, it may be helpful to cut it in to bites for easier consumption.