Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
- Welcome to the very first episode
of our brand new series In Season,
where we'll be celebrating fresh seasonal produce
all spring and summer long.
Today I'm very excited to kick things off
with one of my all-time favorite vegetables, asparagus.
While most North Americans can get their asparagus
at their supermarkets all year long,
there is nothing quite like
fresh local asparagus in the springtime.
Today I'll be celebrating this glorious green vegetable
by showing you how to prepare it three delicious ways.
I'm going to show you my
prosciutto wrapped roasted asparagus,
a lemon quinoa and asparagus salad,
and finally, a shrimp and asparagus stir fry
that is the easiest dinner you will ever make.
So let's get started with our
prosciutto wrapped roasted asparagus.
All I've done is trim my asparagus
by removing the *** stem at the end.
Next I just want to coat my asparagus in a little olive oil
so it doesn't burn while it's roasting.
Then it's just a matter of rolling my asparagus spears
in thin slices of prosciutto.
I'm going to do these with bunches of three asparagus.
Single spears would also work.
Into the oven these go at 400 degrees
for between 10 and 15 minutes.
You're looking for your prosciutto to get nice and crispy,
and your asparagus to be beautifully roasted.
Keep a good eye on them though,
because you don't want your asparagus to burn.
These make an amazing appetizer,
and they're so easy to put together.
Who could resist?
Next up is our lemon quinoa and asparagus salad.
It can be served either hot as a side dish,
or cold straight from the fridge.
We're getting started today by cooking our quinoa.
All we're going to do is combine one part quinoa
with two parts vegetable broth
and a clove of minced garlic in a small sauce pan.
We're going to bring this mixture to a boil,
turn the heat down to low and cover our pot.
We're going to let it simmer for 20 minutes,
and then turn off our heat
and let it sit for another five minutes.
In the meantime, I've got some asparagus
that I've just trimmed and chopped.
And I'm going to steam it until it becomes bright green.
This should only take two or three minutes in your steamer.
You know your asparagus is done
when it turns bright, beautiful green.
We'll run it under some cold water
to stop the cooking process.
Now that our quinoa's cooked,
we are going to add our steamed asparagus,
and then the zest and juice of one lemon.
Lemon and asparagus are a great combination.
I'm also going to add some fresh parsley,
a nice drizzle of olive oil,
some salt and pepper,
and finally, some beautiful crumbled feta
for a nice salty bite.
I'm going to stir this all together,
and this beautiful salad is ready to be eaten hot or cold.
Finally on today's menu, I have a super simple dinner option
that is great for those nights
where you just don't feel like cooking.
I'm getting started by melting some butter
in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Once your butter has melted completely,
it's time to add some flavor.
Today that means garlic.
A whole lot of garlic.
Once my garlic becomes fragrant,
I'm going to add my peeled shrimp
and my asparagus that I've just trimmed and chopped.
Next, I'm going to add just a splash of white wine.
If you don't drink, or you're too young to drink,
you could also do this with vegetable broth.
It would work just as well.
Finally, I'm going to add some red chili flakes.
This dish isn't overly spicy,
but the red chili flakes definitely add a little kick.
I'm going to turn my heat down to medium,
put on my lid and let those guys simmer
until my shrimp are cooked through.
This should only take three to four minutes.
It happens that fast.
I'm going to finish this all off
with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
and a little salt and pepper.
And then serve it over a beautiful bed of rice.
How easy was that?
Dinner is served, seriously, in under 15 minutes.
I hope these tasty recipes help you love asparagus
just as much as I do.
And if you give them a try,
be sure to tweet or Instagram me a photo,
because you know I love seeing what you're coming up with
in your very own kitchens.
And don't forget to leave a comment
in the comment section below letting me know
what fruits and vegetables you'd like to see featured
in our next episodes of In Season.
Finally, if you haven't already,
be sure to subscribe to The Domestic Geek,
because there's lots more deliciousness
where this came from.