Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Braised Asparagus with Rosemary

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. Some people hate it, and I'm okay with that. All the more for me.

Unfortunately, with Utah's climate it's nearly impossible to grow so, we have to ship it in from places like California if we want to enjoy it. Unfortunately, that does make it a little more expensive than other vegetables around here. That's okay, though. We just don't eat it as often. I try to buy asparagus only in the spring, it's normal growing season. I'm not sure that it makes a real difference in terms of quality, considering it has to be shipped by truck a few hundred miles anyway, but I like to pretend.

Rosemary is a wonderful addition to asparagus. This simple recipe makes a great side to almost any meal. In this case, we're going to be braising the asparagus in a simple stock, and add just a bit of butter at the end for flavor.

Equipment needed
vegetable peeler
kitchen knife
large skillet
measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary, crushed* (or 1 tablespoon, fresh)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 pound fresh asparagus, peeled and trimmed.
1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced)
2 teaspoons butter (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the stock, rosemary, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.

Add the asparagus and a dash of salt. Cover and reduce the heat, gently simmering for 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is tender-crisp and bright green. Add the butter and remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

*I love the flavor or rosemary. I don't keep an herb garden (yet) and fresh rosemary is very expensive, so I buy dried. The trouble is, I hate the hard spears in my food. Crushing the rosemary with a rolling pin helps overcome this problem. I've also been known to create my own powdered rosemary by running the dried rosemary leaves through a spice grinder.

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