I wasn't going to make a Julia today. But we were having asparagus anyway, and she has a master entitled 'Plain Boiled Asparagus', so I decided to get it out of the way. Obviously my attitude could use a little work.
My friend Pam introduced me to baked asparagus a while back and they are totally delicious. Just line them up on a cookie sheet in a single layer, not touching each other, dribble on a little olive oil and salt and bake them at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes. So that was what I really wanted to make, and who would ever want to make something that had "Plain Boiled" in the title anyway?
There are two things that set her "Plain Boiled" apart from anyone else's. First she considers it a waste to bend them until they break and then throw away the 'butt' end (her word not mine). And second, she makes you peel the stems, which really made me wish that I had bought fat asparagus instead of a bunch that could almost have passed for green beans. But other than that, she just has you drop them into boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes. Make sure they are done by tasting one to confirm that it is just barely cooked through and still possesses a crunch. Then dress them up with a sauce or butter.
But in order to find this a wonderful preparation you would have to like your vegetables crunchy, and I prefer them soft.
The Bottom Line
Plain Boiled Asparagus-Thumbs Down
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I was also recently introduced to baking asparagus. It's pretty good, but our oven is pretty if-y so I usually don't cook stuff in it unless I have to.
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