Prep time 5 min cook time 10 min
Something magical happens when you toast garlic. It loses is pungency and gets a sweet toasty flavor and this recipe respects the taste of asparagus with little bursts of nutty garlic chips.
However, before I get in to that, I need to vent about what I see as an abuse of this delicate vegetable.
As a side dish I have seen asparagus individually wrapped in prosciutto. Why on earth would you want to do that? It doesn’t do justice to either the prosciutto or the asparagus. I have seen recipes drowning them in a hollandaise or pesto sauce of all things. To add insult to injury, I have even seen recipes calling for showering them with what has now become a catch-all ingredient for any dish when many people can’t think of anything else to use – Parmesan cheese!
Having got that off my chest, one of the best dressings for most green vegetables with a distinctive taste like asparagus is a drizzle of good olive oil and lemon juice. It gives them a lift without smothering their subtle taste. You can build on that by adding herbs and a little heat and here is a dressing that does just that.
Moving from olive oil to butter you have many delicious and quick choices and this one is for real garlic lovers.
What you need (for two)
Asparagus for two
4 – 6 large garlic cloves ( the small ones won’t give the large slices you need and will burn rather than toast).
3 Tbs unsalted butter
Coarse salt
Juice of half a lemon
What to do
Brown the butter and toast the garlic first
1-Peel the garlic cloves taking care to keep them as whole as you can so you can slice them into 1/8 thick slices. (See how its done here.)
2 – Put the butter in a small frying pan. If you have a stainless steel or white enamel pan it will be easier to monitor the color of the butter and garlic. If you don’t, you will need a little extra care.
3 – On a low heat start melting butter and let it start bubbling. That’s the water in the butter getting released. Add the garlic slices.
4 – Toast the garlic for about 2 minutes swirling the pan occasionally to evenly coat the garlic.
5 – Monitor the garlic color carefully. Once the garlic turns a light brown color, remove pan from heat.
6 – Remove garlic with a fork and place on a kitchen towel to remove excess butter.
7 – Butter should also be brown and you can skim off any remaining froth
Char the asparagus.
1 – Char the asparagus in a skillet or under the broiler for about three minutes. You want them charred but still crunchy.
Plate, top with the toasted garlic and drizzle with a little brown butter (skimming the clear butter from the top leaving any black sediment behind). To finish off, add some lemon juice to give some brightness and to take the edge off the fatty butter.
Salt to taste.
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