Asparagus and its cooking methods

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 20 stalk(s) asparagus, white, purple or green
• butter
• oil
• salt and pepper
• Sugar
• lemon juice
• vegetable broth
• Dough (tempura batter)

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

Basic recipes for various cooking methods, also applicable to other vegetables

The various cooking methods listed here are not intended to be exhaustive. A distinction is made between moist and dry cooking methods. For moist cooking methods, I describe boiling, blanching, steaming, stewing, and glazing. For dry cooking methods, I describe deep-frying, gratinating, grilling, and sautéing. White and purple asparagus—from now on referred to collectively as white—are peeled all the way around with a vegetable peeler, starting from the head, and about 1 cm is cut off the lower end. For green asparagus, the white end, if present, is cut off and 1-3 cm is peeled from the green end. The rest remains unpeeled. 1. To cook, place the asparagus in boiling salted water, preferably upright in a separate bowl so that the heads are not covered with water. If desired, you can add a little sugar and lemon juice to the water. Depending on the thickness, the process takes 10-15 minutes for white asparagus and 3-8 minutes for green asparagus. Then lift out the inlet so that the water can drain completely and place the no longer moist asparagus in serving dishes of your choice 2. For blanching, proceed as for boiling, but stop the cooking process halfway through. The asparagus is briefly shocked in ice water, dried and only prepared shortly before serving. 3. For steaming, the asparagus is cooked in a closed steamer with steam, while the boiling water does not come into contact with the asparagus. The cooking process will take half as long as for boiling. 4. For stewing, the asparagus is cooked in fat, butter or oil without liquid, with a lid or in aluminum foil. It is seasoned beforehand, e.g. with salt, lemon juice and sugar. The cooking process can take up to 35 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. 5. For glazing, butter or oil is lightly caramelized with a little sugar, then the asparagus is added, turning frequently and cooked in liquid such as broth or stock that half covers the asparagus. Turn the asparagus frequently. This takes about as long as cooking. 6. When deep-frying, the asparagus is placed in a fat bath at around 160-180 degrees Celsius. You can also dip it in tempura batter beforehand. Cooking time is slightly less than the cooking time. 7. When gratinating, the previously cooked or blanched asparagus is finished cooking in the oven at high top heat, possibly with a layer of cheese. The time depends on the degree of browning. 8. When grilling, place the raw or lightly blanched asparagus on a heated rack or in a grill pan, perhaps with a little fat, to achieve a lattice-like color. 9. When sautéing, the asparagus cooks in fat, tossing and turning, without adding any additional liquid. Takes up to 15 minutes for thick stalks. You can also cut the stalks into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on your cooking method and preference. If you mix white and green asparagus, keep in mind that the green takes less time to cook. Which sauce you serve with it is a matter of taste, but hollandaise or béarnaise remains the absolute classic. The photo shows white and green asparagus with béarnaise. Many other vegetables can also be cooked using these methods. However, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant are generally not boiled or blanched.