Slow Butter-Braised Asparagus
serves 2-4
Gently cooking asparagus will give you melt-in-your-mouth stalks, yet still retaining the bright green color and all of its pure flavor. Top it with shaved parmesan and sea salt to create a luxurious dish.Read more about this recipe at Steamy Kitchen.
A bunch of asparagus, hard part of stalks cut off
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2-4 tablespoons of butter (depends on how much asparagus you have)
sea salt
squeeze of lemon
shaved parmesan
prep: 10 minutes
total: 25 minutes
large sauté pan with lid
tongs
1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add butter. When butter is hot, add shallots/garlic, turn heat to low and fry until fragrant.
2. Add asparagus, cover with a tight-fitting lid. This is important -- if the lid isn't tight, the steam escapes. You can try using a thin dishtowel under lid and fold ends up over the top of the lid to create a nice seal. Cook on low for 10-12 minutes, depending on how soft you like your asparagus. If your asparagus can't all fit in one layer in your pan, stir a couple of times during the cooking process.
3. After 8 minutes, take a peek. I usually can tell by cutting part of the stalk with a butter knife and adjust my cooking time. If it looks like the pan needs more butter, feel free to add another tablespoon in, or just throw in a tablespoon of water.
4. When cooked to your liking, remove asparagus, pour the butter/shallot/garlic mixture over, sprinkle with sea salt, a squeeze of lemon and top with shaved parmesan.
