Chow Deliciousness of Spring
posted by on May 16 at 11:55 AM
Asparagus! It is simply great. It’s so simply great that getting it at a restaurant is usually stupid—why would you when you can steam or grill it at home and enjoy the unadulterated deliciousness of spring? Last spring, the most-worth-it asparagus I found in a restaurant was (unsurprisingly) at Sitka & Spruce (grilled, topped with a sunny-side-up duck egg, with duck prosciutto and anchovy).
This spring, the winner is the salade aux asperges at Café Presse: asparagus served refreshingly chilled with a clingy, tart-ish goat cheese vinaigrette, sprinkled with pine nuts and little bits of scallion. (Also reportedly worth it: the new Pike Street Fish Fry’s deep-fried asparagus, an Eastern Washington classic.) The salade aux asperges is so good, it’s better than asparagus at home. This made me mad. I tried to recreate the dressing, with only so-so results.
I called Jim Drohman at Café Presse. He loves asparagus, too. It’s so delicious, he said, you just want to keep from doing something silly to it (so true). Then he told me what’s in the chevre vinaigrette: shallots, garlic, Dijon mustard, fresh thyme, lemon juice, lemon zest, rice vinegar, fresh chevre, honey, salt and pepper, and a mix of soy and olive oil (more soy than olive). The amounts are classified information. You blend all but the oil in a blender, then slowly add in the oil, emulsifying. Blanch the asparagus, then bathe it in ice water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Toast your pine nuts (Jim says always toast your nuts). Don’t forget the scallions.
Totally agree about the PSFF deep-fried asparagus...just wondering what financial interest The Stranger has in it, as the count of mentions for it is rapidly approaching the pantheon of "monorail," "viaduct" and "Chong."
I had some last night at Monsoon and it was amazing. Simple, grilled, and my pee smelled within 5 minutes.
"Number of mentions" = the actual restaurant, not the asparagus.
I second that nomination. It was perfect.
Thanks for the recipe tip!
I agree about toasting the nuts, but remember that steaming and then using a good organic butter to fry the asparagus is a good idea.
The only thing that Germany has over Seattle is the white asparagus that the Germans are going nuts over right now. Also maybe the 'Kase mit Musik' (fart cheese).
The weather was already making me restless and unwilling to focus on my work. Now I'm hungry, too. Sigh...
Asparagus topped with grated parmesan cheese is possibly my favorite foodstuff. So tasty (and easy). I think I will buy some today...
At home, I always grill in over real wood charcoal and, just before serving fresh off the grill, brush with a wee bit of white truffle oil, a spritz of fresh lemon juice and crumbled sea salt crystals.
Tah-dah!
I *heart* Jim Drohman.
I like to keep it simple. Steam asparagus and dip in mayo.
Steam a crab / crab legs while you're at it and go nutso.
Asparagus bottoms are A-1 addition to your stock veggies. Bend the asparagus at the bottom end and let it snap where it wants to. No worrying about fiberousness this way.
Asparagus makes your cum taste really really bad.
Brush with half soy, half sesame oil and grill. If make little rafts of three or four with toothpicks they won't fall through. The fatter your asparagus, the better.
Mmm...stinky pee
All I need with my asparagus is salt, but anything else works. Asparagus is teh amazingness.
I made yesterday's recipe of the day and added a twist - added some bay scallops sauteed with butter and garlic at the end and put the whole thing over orzo. It. Was. Delicious. Waiting for stinky pee now.
I wonder if Liberty and Honey Hole are bitter and jaded after the Stranger staff threw them overboard in their lustful pursuit of a new restaurant to fawn over.
I'm guessing that one, or both former loves may be soon penning an "I, Anonymous"...
@5 - don't forget the sex. Germans get lots of that too - way more than Americans.
Speak for yourself, Will.
Heh heh.
The Café Presse recipe sounds wonderful, but I gotta admit, a dressing that requires 12 separate incredients isn't going to be making many appearances on my dinner table.
My favorite asparagus preparation: snap off the bottoms of the stalks, coat with a little olive oil and lots of salt and pepper, grill until the stalks are slightly carmelized but still have a little snap (about 8 minutes), then top with a mixture of two parts butter, one part soy sauce, and one part basalmic vinegar. Easy peasy and delicious.
Sex and Germans: The porn that I have seen is violence or fecal based if that means anything.
Tarragon! Asparagus is your chance to use tarragon.
A row of steamed asparagus on extremely buttered whole wheat toast.
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