Asparagus two ways – a side dish and a main dish

Darlene’s back Guest-clacking again, after sharing her recipe for chicken two ways….

First of all, I don’t intend to title every guest post with multiple variations on a single theme, but two important events happened this week in the Wilson household and both involved asparagus.

When I think about it, I would probably be a very content vegetarian except for the fact that I also love meat, fish, pork and poultry. Still, my favorite part of every meal is often the vegetables and, since I’m not a traditional breakfast food person, the first thing I go digging for amongst the leftovers the next day after I’ve made a fabulous meal is the veggies. They’re sort of like leftover Chinese takeout — they only seem to improve in flavor and they taste good at any temperature.

My kids, on the other hand, are not quite as enthusiastic. Rachel likes carrot sticks, Sabrina likes celery and they’ll both eat corn and broccoli. Anything else has been strictly off limits. Until this week, that is.

On Monday, I made steak with twice baked potatoes and blanched asparagus with lemon vinaigrette. Yes, I knew my kids wouldn’t eat it, but as is my custom, I planned to make them try it before giving my “You don’t know what you’re missing” speech and tossing some carrot and celery sticks at them. But something amazing happened instead — they tried the asparagus. Then they took another bite without prodding. Soon they were reaching for another spear.

After experimenting, Rachel decided she preferred the asparagus with the parsley sauce I had made for the steak rather than the lemon vinaigrette and after trying it, Sabrina and I agreed with her. My daughters continued to discuss what other dishes might be enhanced by the parsley sauce as I sat back and basked in the glow of my asparagus success.

Important event number two came later in the week. I’d had a busy day and just didn’t feel like cooking. “What do you guys want?” I asked my girls, “Mac & cheese or soup?” (or, in other words, “Dinner from a box or dinner from a can?”). That’s when Sabrina turned to me and said, “Can’t you cook something Mom? I mean, can’t you make something of your own?” — i.e., “I prefer your cooking Mom to anything that comes out of a box or a can.” Now what mother wouldn’t absolutely melt to hear her child utter those words? And without any bribery whatsoever!

But I still didn’t feel like a big production so I scanned the fridge and pantry, grabbed a few items and came up with “Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Walnuts.” I figured they’d pick out the pasta and pancetta and leave the rest, but to my delight, they both practically licked their bowls clean. From a culinary perspective, it was a wonderful week!

Blanched Asparagus with Parsley Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Blanch trimmed asparagus spears. I did this by placing the spears in a steamer basket set in a large pot with about an inch of water. Bring water to a boil, cover and steam spears for about 4-5 minutes. You want the asparagus to have that perfect combination of tender, yet still crisp. Remove to an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Drain, pat dry and arrange on a platter.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Either drizzle spears with the parsley sauce, or, if you have picky eaters at the table, serve the sauce separately and let everyone dress their own spears.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pasta (medium shells work very well for this recipe)
• 2 TBS butter
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 5 oz. chopped pancetta
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, cut at a diagonal slant into 1″ pieces
• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Set up pot of salted water over medium heat. Many pasta recipes tell you to set the water to boil and then start the sauce, but I’ve never been coordinated enough to get my sauce and pasta timing in perfect synch. Getting the water heated to a pre-boil temp allows you to control your timing better.

Meanwhile, place asparagus in a large measuring cup or bowl filled about ¾ full with water and parboil in the microwave for about 4 minutes. While the asparagus in parboiling, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Smash the garlic cloves with the back of a large knife; add the smashed cloves to the pan and cook, swirling frequently, until garlic turns lightly golden. Remove garlic from the pan and set aside. By this time, the asparagus should be done. Drain and immediately rinse the asparagus in cold water to stop the cooking. Pat asparagus dry.

Turn the pasta water to high. While waiting for water to boil, add pancetta and walnuts to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. While pasta cooks, continue to brown pancetta until it begins to crisp (about 5-7 minutes). Coarsely chop the cooked garlic and add it, along with the asparagus, to the browned pancetta. Cover pan and cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Before draining the cooked pasta, remove ½ cup of the pasta water and reserve. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the pancetta sauce and reserved pasta water to the pasta and toss gently to mix. Serve with grated Romano cheese and enjoy!

Clacked by Guest Clacker
on Apr 09, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT