February 09, 2007

Turns out, I love asparagus! (who knew?)

Some months ago, I was reading Elise's blog - Simply Recipes. She had a recipe for asparagus, which caught my eye, because she described the texture as "slightly crunchy". I recalled that my whole life I've hated asparagus, because I've only had it prepared from a can. And it's mushy enough to puree with the back of a fork. My LCB loves canned asparagus, so we fix it now and then, but I don't eat it. So Elise's recipe really piqued my interest. On the way home I picked up some fresh asparagus at the grocery, and when I got home I made some to go with dinner. As it turns out, I actually LOVE asparagus.


You ever try a recipe, and it's so simple, and so delicious, that about 2 seconds after you savor the last bite, you think to yourself -- "I bet that'd be good with..." Well that's what happened to me. I thought I'd swap out the lemon zest and parmesan for some fresh minced garlic and crumbled gorgonzola. Oh, man! It really turned out good. So here's my take on asparagus with a nod to Elise over at Simply Recipes for the inspiration.

1 bunch fresh Asparagus
2 cloves freshly minced garlic.
2 Tbsp crumbled gorgonzola cheese.
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.
Break off the tough ends of the asparagus, then cut the spears on a bias in about 1-2 inch sections.
Put the asparagus sections in the boiling water for no more than 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, drain them, and put them in a big mixing bowl.
Add the Olive Oil, garlic, and gorgonzola and toss it all together.
Transfer all this to a serving bowl, and you're good to go.

Tinker around with this and try some different variations. I'm sure there are a lot of ways you could fix this. The real key, is to only parboil the asparagus for a couple minutes. After that, you can pretty much let your imagination run with the fixin's.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Welcome to the Food Bog World, BCC.

For a blog that's only a week old, there's lots of good stuff here. You live in a wonderful part of the country, BCC, and I look forward to more of your recipes.

Mimi

ChrisB said...

Hi I just popped over to have a look at your blog ( saw your comment on mimi). I see you have a link to becks& posh (my daughter); Mine is not a food blog but I do enjoy reading food blogs and picking up tips and recipes so I will be back.

Unknown said...

Charles, thanks for the link.

I will be adding yours at my site later today!

Mimi

Charles said...

Mimi -- Thanks for the kind words. This is a wonderful part of the country.

Chrisb -- Wow, Sam's your daughter?! Very cool. I really like her blog, and even more -- her food blog s'cool site. It's been very helpful. Hope you find some recipes you can use.

Lisa said...

Oh, yum! Funny, my last post involves Gorgonzola. I can't get enough of that stuff. Missed the asparagus recipe on Simply Recipes -- will have to try it...

mickey said...

Good luck with your blog-mine is over a year old, and I still don't have any of the bells and whistles. You got me with your oyster post. I love scalloped oysters-might have to go buy oysters right now.

Charles said...

Mickey -- Hooray! Another oyster lover! I used to call that dish scalloped oysters, until I saw a recipe for them that didn't look anything like it. (hmm) Gi-Gi's recipe is basically oyster stew, with a LOT more oysters, and a LOT more crackers. I hope you like it.