My daughters love blanched asparagus so much. I can hardly believe it. They grab handfuls at a time. I never cared for asparagus growing up. But I’ve discovered that I really enjoy it ever so slightly peeled, trimmed and blanched (boiled and then ‘shocked’ in cold water). And it’s so quick and easy to make: 2 minutes of prep and 4 minutes of cooking. I make asparagus all the time during Springtime. This year, I even served it as part of my Mother’s Day Lunch menu.
What is blanching?
Blanching basically just means you boil a vegetable for a short while, until it’s cooked to your liking, and immediately plunge it into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. It sets the color and texture. It keeps the vegetable from continuing to cook (from its own heat) and getting soggy and sad looking. Blanched asparagus results in a beautiful bright green color that looks so appetizing, and has the perfect crisp-tender texture. For asparagus, I don’t personally feel like an ice bath is necessary. I just run the asparagus under cold water and that does the trick.
Peel the asparagus
If asparagus is super thin, I don’t always peel it, but generally speaking, I prefer when it’s peeled. Especially for my kids. I keep the top in tact, cut off the bottom third entirely, and peel the rest with a peeler. I prefer the overall texture, and even how it looks. My kids love it too. And my hubby, who also didn’t care for asparagus all that much growing up, has also found a new appreciation for the veggie.
Boil the asparagus in a large skillet
I’m not sure if this is the proper way to blanch asparagus (probably not), but I have personally found it easiest when I use a large skillet (instead of a pot). I boil the salted water in a skillet and then lay the asparagus flat to cook. I poke the asparagus with a fork to check for doneness, and then use my largest and flattest sieve to capture the asparagus and run it under cold water in the sink. The times I’ve cooked the asparagus in a pot of water, I feel like a few of the veggies ended up breaking. So the skillet method is my go-to way for asparagus now.
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Blanched Asparagus
- Prep Time: 2
- Cook Time: 4
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Category: Vegetables
- Method: Blanching
Description
Asparagus kid love. Bright green, crisp-tender blanched asparagus. 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 12 oz asparagus
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 4 cups water
- olive oil (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the asparagus. Cut off the tough ends, or bottom third of the asparagus. With a peeler, lightly peel all but the very top of the asparagus.
- In a large skillet, bring 4 cups of water to boil.
- Add 1 tablespoon salt to the water.
- Add in asparagus. Cook a few minutes until cooked to your liking (about 4 minutes). Check for doneness with a fork.
- Pour asparagus onto a large flat-ish sieve and run under cold water in the sink.
- Place asparagus on a plate. I serve it as it, but you can add a drizzle of olive oil, additional salt or other topping or seasoning you enjoy with asparagus.
Keywords: asparagus, veggies, vegetables, sides,
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