I had two holiday parties this week. One I did most of the feeding for, the other was a potluck. The potluck invite said to “bring something to pass.” Hmmm. In pro-partying vernacular, “passed” indicates an hors d’oeuvre, so I wasn’t sure if it meant it was an appetizer potluck or just a homey phrase, as in, “please pass the potatoes.” I decided asparagus covered me either way.
Joking with another guest (who made mashed red bliss potatoes that looked festive with their little bits of skin mixed in, and tasted great) about the meaning of “passed,” I told her I went with asparagus because everybody loves asparagus. She replied, “Everybody loves asparagus.”
I would imagine that I have served literally a few tons of this chic member of the lily family over the years. Mostly blanched, but sometimes grilled. While the top restaurants have all but banished it as passé, we the people still love our asparagus.
The graceful green spears add visual drama to any spread and can be a side dish, or stand in as a simplified crudité, hence my choice for the “something to pass” at the potluck. If you needed another reason to love them as a feeder, asparagus is tasty room temperature and therefore a good do-ahead dish for easier entertaining – just don’t overcook them! One of the things I get constantly high ratings for is perfectly cooked asparagus. Although this feeder is always happiest when others are feeling well fed, rave reviews for a blanched vegetable are not the most thrilling.
Blanching is a great technique, though, and can be used on many a veggie. Basically it’s bringing well salted water to a boil, and dropping your vegetables in for an appropriate amount of time. Usually as little as 30 seconds or no more than two minutes, followed by an ice water “shock” to stop the cooking process. With the asparagus, I do about two minutes unless they are exceptionally thin or thick, and then I reduce or add a bit of time. Don’t worry about the salty water raising your blood pressure, as nearly all the salt stays in the water, but you do need it, both for color and flavor.
You read here earlier in the fall that a quick blanching made a brussels sprouts lover out of me, and the technique does have may applications. The brief time in water renders similar results to steaming, but is uniform, and it can be hard to tell when your snap peas are done in a steamer basket with more than a single layer. A 15 second dunk for broccoli makes it a gorgeous green thing in your crudité, which also improves taste and texture, as it removes the slight chalky quality of the raw stuff.
