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Market Fresh: Cooking With Asparagus
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Apr 21, 2011
Modified Apr 21, 2011
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Photo from Flickr user clearrants
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Apr 21, 2011
Modified Apr 21, 2011
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Sure, ramps get all the hype, but there are plenty of other delicious green things popping up at the city's Greenmarkets as spring finally comes into its own. For example: asparagus.
It's a wee bit early for prime asparagus season, but we've confirmed sightings of the stalky stuff at a few farmer's markets in the past week, and there will only be more until the season winds down in mid-July. Big stemmed or small, asparagus is one of the easiest spring vegetables to cook up yourself: the simplest way is to boil and dress with salt and pepper; or you could get all fancy-pants and roast or grill a bunch. Either which way, asparagus is low in calories and surprisingly high in Vitamin C (who knew?), and it does not categorically make your pee smell funny.
Lani's Farm and Cherry Lane are known to bring in bushels of the stuff, so expect to see it on plenty of menus at the city's cache of farm-to-table restaurants in coming weeks. We talked to Ben Daitz of Num Pang, who regularly shops the Union Square Greenmarket, and found out what he does with the vegetable. "Asparagus really solidifies the fact that spring is here," he says. "We try to get as much of it as possible from the Greenmarket." The restaurant serves this recipe this as a side dish to its Cambodian-style sandwiches, but we think it would go just fine with pasta or grilled meat. Happy spring!
Ingredients:
- 6 bunches asparagus, ends trimmed
- 1 bunch garlic scapes/ spring onions/ramps/ (depending on what's in season), sliced
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chive vinaigrette (recipe below)
Directions:
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil with salt
- Blanch vegetables for 2-3 minutes, depending on size
- Place vegetables in a bowl of ice water immediately after blanching to stop them from cooking further
- Transfer the vegetables to a grill, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until tender
- Toss with vinaigrette and serve with slice of lime
Chive Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 3 bunches chives
- 2 gloves garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups soy (or olive) oil
Directions:
- In a small pot, bring water to a boil
- Blanch chives for 2-4 minutes, making sure to squeeze all water out of chives when done.
- Put all ingredients in blender and mix to a semi-fine consistency
Tagged
asparagus
cooking
greenmarket
grilling
market fresh
num pang
screw ramps
spring
Jamie Feldmar
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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