Archibald
Do you have any vegetables that you never cook because you just have no idea what to do with them? I think we do that more than we realize. If we didn’t grow up eating it or haven’t ever seen anyone cook it, we just walk on by without even noticing. I used to have two vegetables like that but now I’m down to only one because thanks to this recipe, asparagus is no longer just one of my favorite Veggie Tales characters, it is also something mouth wateringly delicious (Sorry Archibald!).
Now some of you, who have been eating asparagus all of your life, may be surprised to find it was pretty much a foreign obstacle to me and my entire family (including grandparents) until recently. Several weeks back while I was in Ecuador I posted some photos of new-to-me foods on my Facebook page and someone commented that they were surprised I didn’t have a more “sophisticated palate”. That made me giggle to read because at no point in my life have I ever set out to have a sophisticated palate!
Many of you know my story by now: I’m a mama with a home ec degree who likes to feed people and enjoys cooking. I’m not a foodie or a chef – I’m a mama and a cook. My food isn’t about venturing to new places for exotic food experiences, it’s about bringing your family home to gather around the dishes from our heritage.
Having said that, though, I don’t object to adding to that heritage from time to time.
Last November, I was talking to my friend Jyl about our menu plans for Thanksgiving dinner and I asked her what her most requested dish was. She told me it was asparagus. I responded with “Asparagus? But what do you DO with it?”
“Oh I roast it!”
I decided that if it was that big of a deal on her family dinner table it had to be something good. I bought some that week and figured I’d make it for supper one night but it got to getting the best of me as I went to bed and I spent most of the night trying to imagine what it could possibly taste like. The next morning I was standing over a pan of freshly roasted asparagus at around 4:45 AM – and it sure was good! I ate the entire thing. Needless to say, I wasn’t hungry by the time the kids got up for breakfast!
We ended up having this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and several dinners in betwixt and since then. It’s terribly easy to make and just delicious. Even though there is no butter involved, this asparagus ends up tasting buttery, with flavors of the garden and just the right touch of salt.
I’m glad I tried it and I’m sure it will be a staple in the Jordan family for generations to come.
Is there a vegetable you’ve never tried? If so, why not? No judging here! If you think something looks or sounds weird that’s reason enough for me! Tell me about it in the comments below – and be sure and try this wonderful side dish first chance you get!
Oooh! Let me show you how easy this is to make!
You’ll need: Kosher Salt, Olive Oil, and Asparagus.
Kosher salt really is amazing and it doesn’t cost much at all so I have gotten to where I keep it in hand here lately. Olive Oil is pretty expensive, so I go for generic whenever I can get it and have no qualms whatsoever about substituting vegetable oil in a pinch.
Generic olive oil has the same amount of self esteem as name brand olive oil as long as you don’t talk ugly about it where it can hear you.
Okay, so here is what you do. This is a piece of asparagus and we want to snap the end off. We’ll actually end up snapping the bottom two to three inches off but there is a part where it will snap really easy so we gotta find that by just bending it 2-3 inches from the end and seeing if it snaps easy. If it doesn’t, go up another inch and it should.
Like this.
Please note that this is a two handed operation here, but I’m trying to be all ninja mama so I can get a photo of it broken for you.
After you get all of the ends snapped off, spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet (or a jelly roll pan).
Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle them with kosher salt.
Bake this at 425 for about twenty minutes, stirring it once in the middle, until it is just lightly browned.
And that’s all there is to it – Eat up!
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Wash Asparagus and break off bottom two inches or so of each stalk.
- Arrange on rimmed baking sheet.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Place in oven for about 20 minutes, stirring once, until lightly browned on the edges.
Are there any vegetables that you have never tried?
I’d love to hear which ones in the comments below!
I have one vegetable left (that I know of) that I’ve never tried and that is artichokes. No idea what to do with those things but anytime someone tells me how to eat them it just seems like an awful lot of effort for very little return. If you have a fabulous way to prepare artichokes let me know in the comments and I just might give it a try one of these days!
“Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want,
but the realization of how much you already have.”
~Anonymous
Submitted by Janet. Thank you, Janet!
I haven’t ever eaten kale.
Hmm, I wonder if I have? lol I have no idea!
I have….purple kale makes the most wonderful chips.
A friend of the family once made parsnips (I think…whitish carrot looking veggie) for us when I was a kid…of course I turned my nose up at this new veggie, but mom said try it anyway, and she put a little butter on it for me. Oh my heavens…so good! I haven’t had them since, and would love to, but I have no clue how to cook them.
Brussel Sprouts
Ooh I love brussel sprouts any way you cook ’em! But I know a lot of folks who really detest them.
Brussel sprouts are great, but you have to cook them right. Boiling them makes people want to slap the cook and run away. Oven or pan roasting is definitely the way to go, and there are plenty of great recipes out there. Asparagus are AWESOME oven roasted. You can take the thin baby ones and roast till totally crispy as a snack. SO good. They are also terrific in seafood pasta dishes. 😀
That’s interesting, because roasting them make them tast bitter to me!
I favorite way is to cut them in half and saute in butter. Salt them while cooking, throw a little minced garlic in toward the end and….YUM!
We love them roasted just like the asparagus. I also do a fake roast by zapping them in the microwave about 3 minutes and then brown them in olive oil in a very hot iron skillet. YUM. Don’t ever try frozen. Fresh is the only way to go.
This is wonderful with some grated Parmesan and a squirt of lemon juice. I grew up eating canned asparagus and hated it. I discovered roasted asparagus and never looked back.
My husband loves just about anything with parmesan, I’ll have to try it!
I recently roasted brussel sprouts and they were wonderful. ( The husband had a Yankee mom and thinks most green stuff other than green beans is gross!) Kale is next on my list of foods to try. Christy go for the artichoke dip at Chili’s – you will like it.
I love this method and also use it for zucchini, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. I like to add fresh herbs, like rosemary and thyme as well. My husband would once not touch anything green like asparagus, broccoli, or zucchini. Now he likes them and loves it when I prepare vegetables like this.
Bev, could you please give us approximate cooking times for the various vegetables you mentioned?
I cook most at 350 for about an hour. I add mushrooms or tomatoes about halfway through the cooking time because they don’t take as long. I cook all together in one roasting pan. For example, yesterday we had potatoes, zucchini, amd sliced mushrooms. Just be sure that the harder vegetables (the potatoes and zucchini in my example) are cut in approx. the same size pieces.
good tip Bev!!
This is a new vegi for us too. I’ve started cooking lots of vegis exactly like this, so much healthier! My current fav is cauliflower! (This sounds weird, but it reminds me of fried okra. I even dip it in ketchup, like fries. Could-eat-the-whole-pan kinda good!)
This is just the way we do it, except in summer, we put them on the BBQ grill in one of those vegetable grilling pans. I will also lightly season slices of sweet potato to do this way – inside or out. Quick cooking and yummy.