Both White and Green Asparagus are seasonal products. That’s part of the fun, to wait for the season to re-open.
Preparing green asparagus is not difficult. Wash them and cut of 2 centimes or so from the bottom. You could steam or cook them but you risk getting soggy asparagus. Better to prepare them in a pan or in the oven.
Cooking or steaming white asparagus is also not difficult. Just keep a few things in mind:
- They must be fresh (when rubbing two asparagus together they should produce a sort of squeezing sound).
- The bottom must look fresh as well.
- Peel well but don’t be worried too much.
- Cut of 2 centimeter from the bottom, depending on the asparagus. Don’t think 2 centimeter, think what is edible.
- Best is to steam for 20 – 30 minutes depending on the size of the asparagus. If you need an egg for your dish, steam it 2 times 5 minutes.
- When cooking in water: add the asparagus to a pan with plenty of boiling water. Wait for the water to start boiling again and then reduce the heat or transfer to work top. Wait for 20 – 30 minutes or so before removing the asparagus from the water.
- Many add butter, sugar, lemon and/or the skin of the asparagus to the water. We would only suggest adding the skin. Both lemon and sugar are a big NO for us.
- Using a special asparagus pan to cook them is fine of course, but why would you?
- In general we prefer our asparagus medium or al dente, but it does depend on what you plan to do with the asparagus and what your guests prefer.
- Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Muscat from the Elzas are the obvious choices, but we have included some exciting suggestions for you in the recipes.