Best way to cook asparagus

pigletnz25, Nov 15, 3:45am
I have some asparagus and have never had good success cooking it please help.

davidt4, Nov 15, 3:59am
Trim the tough ends off.If the stalks are unevenly sized you can use a potato peeler to shave off the skin from the thickest spears so that they all cook evenly.

Heat a large pan of salted water, when it is boiling put in the asparagus and boil uncovered for 3 - 5 minutes until the spears have just started to soften.To test this pick up one spear with tongs and see if it bends - a slight bend is what you are looking for.

When the spears are cooked remove with tongs and drain on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.Serve hot with butter or Hollandaise sauce, cold with extra virgin olive oil.

seniorbones, Nov 15, 4:03am
I just put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave while I'm getting the rest of the meal dished up (usually about 5 mins) drain and add butter, much quicker and no extra dirty pot or pan!

fisher, Nov 15, 4:45am
sounds easy and very nice and tasty. :}

retired, Nov 15, 5:23am
Trim off the ends or snap off.Wrap in double lunch wrap paper, into a parcel.I sprinkle with lemon pepper.Three minutes in the microwave, perfect.

nzl99, Nov 15, 5:24am
Yep. that's about it.I had some crisp 'cooked' asparagus the other day with some fresh made lemony hollindaise. was soooo good.

karenz, Nov 15, 5:29am
I cook mine in the microwave in a small oval covered casserole dish, just rinse and put in with the water which is clinging to the asparagus, plus a squeeze of lemon juice if you like it.Comes out perfect, as does broccoli.

eastie3, Nov 15, 5:39am
I simmer them in a frypan but love seniorbones idea,I'll be trying that.

gardie, Nov 15, 5:47am
Snap off tough ends, chop into inch peices and stir fry (quickly) in a teaspoon of rice bran oil.Season on plate.Yum.

mazzy1, Nov 15, 5:50am
Nothing wrong with putting a bit of butter in a frypan and sauteing them, shaking the pan for a couple of minutes until they're tender. Squeeze of lemon, teeny bit of rock salt and grind of black pepper. Happiness on a plate. I sometimes steam them or barbecue them too, but this way is super dooper tasty!

fisher, Nov 15, 6:34am
Was given a shopping bag full of asparagus just picked that morning. nice fat ones and soooooscrummy.even some raw stalks chopped up for a green salad. magic

purplegoanna, Nov 15, 6:44am
my all time fav is the river cottage way, gently pan simmer the stems while you SOFT-MED boil an egg, place stems on hot plates and usng gloves quickly peel the soft-med boiled egg, cut in half ontop of the stems and drop about 6 drops of balsamic vinegar into the soft yolk of each egg half.nomnom nom

cookessentials, Nov 15, 6:58am
I only ever steam mine.

shickenmcboing, Nov 15, 7:14am
put in dish with small amount of water add i teaspoon of sugar mocrowave 2 mins yum

eastie3, Nov 15, 7:19am
I'm trying this too,thanks

pigletnz25, Nov 15, 7:45am
Thanks everyone, tried seniorbones method tonight, but needed more time than 5mins more 10, but was nice all the same. Going to try some other methods on here next time we get some. Last year we had some at a friends place steamed then dipped in homemade aoli and it was soooooo yummo, so wanted to try and recreate the wonderful flavours.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.

lyl_guy, Nov 15, 11:37am
I made some last week. they were the BEST we've ever had!I shaved the ends off with a peeler, and they were much more tender that way.I just laid them in a roasting dish and drizzled some garlic infused olive oil over them. roasted for about 10-15mins, then served them with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper.Delicious.

otterhound, Nov 18, 1:23am
I love chopping them and red capsicum, then gently frying both in a little butter and oil and crushed garlic.Salt, pepper - yummy.Great side dish with steak and mashed potatoes.

cherzz, Dec 3, 10:19pm
Break off tough ends. Place in a pan with a little butter and saute only until the colour changes to bright green then add a couple of tablespoons of water turn off element,cover pan with a lid while you dish up the rest of the meal. five minutes is all it takes. season with salt and pepper.

seafield1, Dec 4, 8:54am
Break off the ends and then bbq until done. Delicous