Now that spring is finally here I am seeing tons of asparagus at the Farmers’ Markets. I was at St. Lawrence Market this weekend and saw tables of asparagus being sold for $1/bunch. It’s so great when asparagus is in season.
When I first cooked asparagus I didn’t know that the bottom of the stalks are tough. I didn’t realize that you have to trim the bottom to remove this part. How much (and whether) to trim is a topic of debate.
Should you trim asparagus? And if so, how?
Some people snap the bottom of the asparagus to see where it breaks and then trim the rest of the stalks that length. But some people find this wasteful (unless you use them to make stock).
Some people prefer to peel the outside of the stalk using a vegetable peeler. This helps to remove the tough, woody part while still leaving the soft, tender part that can be eaten. And others slice the bottom section into thin disks and cook it with the larger pieces
Cooking asparagus
No matter which method you choose, asparagus is a great ingredient to use that you can cook a variety of ways. You can roast them in the oven, boil, blanche, pan fry, grill or steam them.
Here are some great resources to get you cooking with asparagus:
All about asparagus (plus recipes that provide a variety of ways to prepare them)
How to cook asparagus in the oven
How to prepare and blanche asparagus
How do you trim the ends of asparagus? What is your favourite way of preparing them?