6+ Things to Do with Asparagus Which Does Not Include a Quiche

Going beyond the usual asparagus recipes

The Capsule Pantry in one sentence: Reduce your food waste by “thinking like a chef” with highly flexible recipes based on a capsule pantry of just 50 ingredients.

OMG OMG OMG IT’S FREAKING ASPARAGUS SEASON!

For once, I’ve timed a trip back to visit family in the UK perfectly - it’s both asparagus and wild garlic season right now.

The problems start however when I look for asparagus recipes across the internet and come up with the same thing time and again.

Steamed asparagus with soft-boiled eggs. Asparagus quiche. Asparagus risotto. Asparagus omelette.

All fine choices, but I want something different. Something that showcases asparagus as the main event.

These recipes do exactly that. All of them are Capsule Pantry-friendly and highly flexible - I’ve included variations under each recipe.

Get ready for weird-smelling pee-pee.

Key: Bold = Capsule Pantry ingredients

The Salad, asparagus version

The Salad went viral (well, viral for me) on Instagram last year and I still stand by it as one of my favorite all-time recipes, one I make - in one iteration or another - weekly.

Take a vegetable, a nut, a cheese and a dressing with acid (think lemon juice or balsamic or sherry vinegar) and you’ve got the basics of a brilliant starter, light lunch or small plate dish.

Play with the cheeses and nuts. Use seeds or dairy-free cheese if your diet doesn’t accommodate them. You can even omit them entirely - dressed vegetables are a wonder in themselves.

In terms of quantities, like most of TCP it’s pretty flexible, but I would suggest around a handful of asparagus per person (maybe 7-8 stalks each). To prepare the asparagus, just chop the ends off if they look woody and give them a quick wash.

It could look something like this:

Pan-fried asparagus with cured ham and almonds

Chop up some jamon, chorizo, pancetta, prosciutto, or salami into tiny pieces and fry in a frying pan with a glug of olive oil on a medium heat. Take out, drain, and set aside.

Add into the same pan a handful of blanched almonds. Keep an eye on these because they can cook very quickly. Once they start to brown, set them aside onto kitchen roll. Chop into small pieces once cooled.

Make a dressing of either fresh lemon juice and olive oil - or good quality vinegar (ideally Sherry or balsamic) in a 2-1 oil to vinegar ratio. Season with salt and whisk with a fork until emulsified.

Take a handful of asparagus per person and batch fry it on a griddle or frying pan (glug in some oil, turn up the heat to medium-high, and fry on each side until blistering).

Arrange the asparagus on a plate, pour over the dressing and top with the meat and almonds.

Dietary requirements

The salad is naturally gluten-free.

Make it vegetarian - omit the meat.

Make it vegan - swap the cheese for a dairy-free equivalent or omit.

Make it nut free - swap the almonds with seeds or omit entirely.

Other variations

Grated parmesan, manchego, or pecorino would all work particularly well.

Swap the almonds: pine nuts or hazelnuts also work great. Or swap for seeds - roasted pumpkin would be amazing here.

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Spring salad with asparagus, peas, broad beans and fresh cheese

Make a similar dressing to the above (lemon juice / vinegar and olive oil in a 1-2 ratio).

Either shell fresh or grab out of the freezer some peas and broad beans. Boil until only just cooked (3-5 minutes at the most for frozen, you don’t want grey blobs on the plate).

Pan-fry the asparagus similar to the above.

Arrange the vegetables on a platter and top with the dressing. Add fresh cheese like ricotta.

Swap the cheese: feta, grated parmesan, fresh goat’s cheese or dairy-free equivalent. Or omit it entirely.

Other additions: freshly chopped chives, griddled spring onions, griddled gem lettuce, shaved raw courgettes.

Italian inspired asparagus

Griddle the asparagus as above. Top with the lemon-olive oil dressing. Grate parmesan on top. Very, very simple but very delicious. I made this with wild asparagus last week whilst in Croatia (these are thinner but woodier than cultivated asparagus so I boiled them for 10 minutes instead of griddling them).

Swap the cheese: Any hard sheep’s cheese like manchego or pecorino works great. Italians will often omit the cheese entirely instead focusing on the simplicity of dressed greens.

If you’ve got leftover asparagus, it can easily fit into one of these previous TCP recipes:

Asparagus, leek and orzo bake

Take this TCP recipe and add asparagus to the dish before it goes in the oven.

Asparagus dipped in Catalan romesco sauce

Griddle a handful of asparagus and serve alongside this romesco sauce.

Asparagus and ricotta Roman pizza

Use this Roman pizza recipe and add freshly griddled asparagus on top. Works great with another topping like feta, ricotta, mortadella, or cherry tomato halves (or a mix).