33 Spring Asparagus Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What's the best way to cook asparagus? ›

Heat a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cut 6 to 8 cleaned and trimmed medium asparagus spears into 2-inch lengths. Add olive oil or butter to pan; when hot, add asparagus, season generously with salt and pepper and cook about 3 to 4 minutes, until bright green, shaking or stirring the pan frequently.

While asparagus is luckily usually found year-round in grocery stores, like most produce, it has a peak season. You will find the best asparagus during spring. Asparagus season usually starts around late February and goes until June, but the peak months are in April and May.

Overcooking It

Because it only takes a few minutes to cook, keep a close eye on it to avoid soggy, limp stems as the outcome. To avoid overcooking, take it out of the oven or off the stove a minute or so before you think it's done. Another way to prevent overcooking is to shock the asparagus in an ice bath.

Generally, it is not necessary to apply fertilizer for an established asparagus crop until after harvest. In fact, delaying fertilization until after harvest can reduce early weed growth. For sandy coarse-textured soils, however, 20-25 lbs N/acre in the spring may be beneficial for spear development.

Fertilizing is an excellent way to replenish the natural nutrients in your plant's soil. For asparagus, have your soil tested to determine phosphorus and potassium needs. Asparagus usually likes a balanced fertilizer of 5-10-10 or 8-24-24.

Asparagus develops a rich flavor when roasted, making this one of the most popular ways to eat the vegetable. Wash and trim spears, lightly peel the base of tougher stalks, and pat dry. Place on a baking sheet and mist or drizzle with olive oil, rolling each spear to coat.

Asparagus can be steamed, roasted, grilled, broiled, boiled, blanched, dried or pickled. Combines well with: garlic, lemon juice, nutmeg, honey. Fine herbs: rosemary, basil, dill, marjoram, Mediterranean oregano, thyme, cilantro, etc.

Once 2 years have past your asparagus has enough root mass/energy to push out more spears that you can harvest without removing all the energy from the roots and so it would survive you harvesting some of them. once it has been rooted for 3 years you can harvest more heavily.

Does asparagus get softer the longer you cook it? Yes, it does. But you don't want to cook it too long or it will be soggy. That's fine when using in a soup, but not so much as a roasted side.

Should you mulch asparagus in the spring? ›

They will grow right through the mulch, and the mulch will help keep weed growth down. Once all danger of frost is past in the spring, you could rake the mulch off to the side, which will allow the soil to warm up faster and the spears to emerge sooner.