Fried Fresh Asparagus is an easy to prepare and a delicious springtime vegetable that my family is excited to see on the table once again. Once the cold winter days are past us asparagus is one of the first produce to pop out of the ground to be harvested to eat.
Preparation
Asparagus can be woody and tough at the bottom of the stalks. It’s not very pleasant to bite into a piece of woody asparagus.
Well, there are a couple of ways to avoid this. The most common approach is to cut the bottom couple of inches off ech spear. When cutting the ends off with a knife, the knife should slice it pretty easily. If the spear is harder to slice through, just move up the stalk a bit more. Just keep in mind if it is feels tough with the knife, it will be tough when you eat it.
Another method to prepare the asparagus is to cut a small piece of the very bottom off. Then using a peeler, peel the outer green “skin” off the bottom couple of inches of each stalk. It’s that outer green skin that gets woody while the center flesh of the stalk stays tender when cooked. I do not peel spears that are as small as a pencil. I will slice the bottoms off those spears. They’re more difficult to peel and it’s too much work for you get out of those spears.
At this point you can keep them in stalk lengths, or you can cut them into smaller pieces. If you keep them in the longer spears, you will need a fry pan that they fit in. Otherwise, slice them in half or smaller pieces.
It’s a good idea to dry your asparagus too. Use a towel or a couple of paper towels to remove the excess water. They’ll fry nicer without the moisture from the water your rinsed them with.
Frying
Turn stove onto medium to high heat. In your frying pan add the olive oil. Once it is heated, add your asparagus and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good toss in the olive oil. Stir it occasionally. Remove from the heat.
Serving
Once they are to the desired tenderness, top with a pat of butter and toss again. Now they’re ready to serve and enjoy!
I like to serve the Fried Fresh Asparagus with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs or Honey BBQ Pork Chops and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes. For a dessert I would make Red, White, and Blueberry Fluff. Everything is pretty easy to prepare and quickly ready to eat.
Happy cooking!
Fried Asparagus
Equipment
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Peeler
Ingredients
- 4 servings Asparagus
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the asparagus by removing the tough ends or peeling up the stalks a couple of inches to remove the woody ends. You can cook them as spears or slice into smaller pieces.
- Put olive oil in the frying pan and heat it up.
- Add the asparagus to the frying pan and give them a toss. Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Fry for about 10-15 minutes or until the desired tenderness.
- Top with a pat of butter and toss.
- Serve immediately.
