Recipe: Celebrate the new season with an easy vegetable side
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Fresh and delicious, asparagus heralds the start of spring. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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I'm so happy to see asparagus show up. It means spring is here and all the other great vegetables of the season will soon follow.
Grilled asparagus is my favorite, but roasted is right behind. And with propane still hard to find (thanks, COVID-19), I'd just as soon use my oven as much as possible now to cook and hope I can fire up the grill for real later.
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Thicker asparagus stalks stand up to roasting.
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The sauce here is optional but it is excellent. Just saying. And don't skip the fresh lemon juice -- it cuts through the richness of the Dijon mustard beautifully.
Roasted Asparagus With Crispy Leeks and Capers
Serves 3-4 as a first course or side
Ingredients:
1 pound thick asparagus stalks (1/2-inch diameter or larger), ends trimmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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The vegetables are easy to prepare and roast. |
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 lemon, halved, then cut into 8 wedges (some will be used in the sauce)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
For sauce:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons drained capers, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place trimmed asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Put the leek slices in a bowl and stir in the other 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Scatter the leeks over the asparagus on the pan, then scatter the capers over that.
Roast the asparagus 12-18 minutes, until the asparagus is tender and showing some golden brown.
Make the sauce while the asparagus is roasting. Stir together the mustard, capers and garlic in a bowl, then slowly stir in, 1 at a time, the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it forms a thickish emulsion. Squeeze the juice from two of the lemon wedges into the sauce, and stir until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
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I got a little carried away when cutting up the lemon.
Slicing each half into fourths is sufficient. Two wedges
of juice are used in the sauce.
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Serve with the mustard sauce and the remaining lemon wedges on the side.
I highly recommend serving small white beans with this if it is part of a full meal -- the beans play especially well with the leeks and the mustard.
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Dig In: Garden Checklist
For week of March 19:
Spring will start a bit soggy, but there’s still plenty to do between showers:
* Fertilize roses, annual flowers and berries as spring growth begins to appear.
* Watch out for aphids. Wash off plants with strong blast from the hose.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare summer vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to fight blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees as they start to blossom.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.
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