RECIPE: REC: Accidentally Roasted Asparagus

RECIPE:
J

joe

Well-known member
I was cooking for a dinner party on Saturday--I blanched asparagus spears in a big skillet (the only pan I had left) drained them, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, then put the skillet on a low flame to keep warm while I fiddled with the steaks.

By the time I was plating things up the asparagus was scorched and stuck to the bottom of the pan. I was so mortified, but we managed to scrape up 3 spears per plate,(some of them re-assembled from the better parts of two damaged spears), with one good spear on top.

My server, bless her heart, told the guests it was "pan-roasted" asparagus and everyone loved it. Not a speck was left on the plates. It's amazing what you can get away with if you have a clever server.

I had to admit that the pan scrapings tasted pretty good. I know Cook's Exchange had an article on pan-roasted asparagus last year but I think I like this accidental method. Next time I'll undercook it a bit at first, and stir it one or twice so it doesn't stick.

 
That was quick thinking...Cook's Illustrated had a recipe for pan-roasting asparagus and I like it

better than oven-roasted. I think my favorite is still the old Sunset recipe of cutting it into 1 1/2 inch pieces and cooking it in a covered skillet over high heat in about a tablespoon of each butter and water until tender crisp, shaking it to keep it from burning. Only takes a couple of minutes and of course, works best with the very thin asparagus.

Glad it worked out for you, thanks for sharing.

 
How Clever! Glad it worked out for you! I am sure not only your quick thinking server, but also

the confidence, conviction and pride that you had when you served it! Let alone how yummy they tasted with the steaks!!

Great story!
Regards,
Barb

 
Mais oui, les pommes frites! Yep, very thin french fries (we might

call them shoestring fries). Once you've eaten all the steak, you can mop up any remaining sauce with the fries. So good...very classic bistro dish. (Same thing with steamed mussels.)

I remember my grandfather (a New Mexico cattle rancher) came to visit us in Brussels. We took him to our favorite restaurant, where he ordered a steak. It came with a butter sauce on it, and he was absolutely horrified--you just don't ruin a perfectly good steak with a sauce! But by the end of his six-week stay, he was a complete convert to sauces of all kinds on his steak.

 
Thanks, I'll keep fries in mind for the future. I love mussels with fries, but when I've taken my

family to France they're horrified at the concept! My brother, sister in law, dad and I went to a local restaurant where everyone was eating moules frites. I wanted them to try it, but my dad ordered a steak and the others ordered pasta. The waitress made a funny face and it took forever for out food to arrive. I think they were the only ones in years to have ordered something else off the menu. The cook probably had to defrost ingredients or send out for them. Maybe given 6 weeks I could have converted them like your grandfather.

I'm delighted to know the origin of this steak dish--it's different from French sauces I've had which are more a brown sauce with peppercorns than a cream sauce--I'll have to try it with fries.

 
Our favorite place for mussels was a restaurant called Chez Leon.

I don't know if it's still there or not (this was--gulp--in the 1980s), but it had the best moules et frites.

There's a saying that Belgian cooking is the quality of the French with the quantity of the Germans. It's a cuisine with many unique qualities to it--well worth exploring.

 
Just on a whim, I Googled "Chez Leon" and found it!

The website (which you can read in English) has some typical Belgian recipes that might be fun to try. Also a picture of the famous "butter pat" that they put on the steaks. Here's the link:

http://www.chezleon.be

 
That's the chain that's very popular in Paris these days...

though I must say it's very "chain-ey" in its Paris locations. Still, it was my first intoduction to moules frites and it turned me on to the joys of mussels and potatoes! I'm starting to get a little nostalgic........

 
Ah, when I lived in Brussels, it was just one family-owned place.

Guess they've expanded. The original Brussels restaurant, should you ever be in the neighborhood, is off the Grand Place in the restaurant district. Those were the days...

 
I would have to say I have been roasting vegetables and

particularly asparagus for a number of years. It is my method of choice. Try cauliflower (like the ever popular "popcorn cauliflower") everyone loves here, broccoli, brussels sprouts and especially green beans. I hardly do them any other way unless I'm saucing them
I commend you for making it work, but if you do it again on purpose, there is no need to blanch. Just roll in a little olive oil and herbs if you want.

 
Don't forget that the reason the potatoes are SO

good is that they are double fried. Once at a low temp to cook the inside and then high to crisp the outside.

We "Like" Leons in Paris but always go to a restaurant across from the Gare du NOrd for mussels.

 
Yep, that and tastier potatoes to begin with, but we're getting much better potatoes here now.

 
Thanks,

Thanks, Gretchen, for the suggestions. I love roasted asparagus but I never considered doing it for a crowd. Perhaps it's easier than blanching!

 
Well whoops. I was trying to say that mussels are easier to digest in the process of adjusting

to wonderful French food. I seem to be doing better as I get older but I used to find the richness a bit difficult to handle on the first night.

Love those frites!! But they just aren't what they were in the old days, when you'd get a whole huge platter for 2 people, dripping in grease (the frites) and already salted. Those are difficult to find now.

 
I discovered roasting veges a few

years ago after spending previous years steaming. What a difference! I have not steamed since! Love the carmelization!

 
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