60 delicious spring asparagus recipes

These asparagus recipes are one of the best parts of spring! And while you can serve asparagus simply seasoned and drizzled with olive oil, there are so many recipes and other dishes to serve it in.

They’re the tasty green spears you’ve probably enjoyed alongside a hearty breakfast dish, or tossed through a healthy stir-fry, but asparagus is actually extremely versatile.

We’ve pulled together some delicious asparagus recipes to include more of this nutrient-packed vegie in your cooking. From our baked gruyere tarts, to our goat’s cheese risotto and barbecued panzanella salad, you’ll love the crunchy texture asparagus gives to your dishes.

How to cook asparagus

When cooking asparagus, try one of these three easy methods.

Boiling

Add asparagus to a saucepan of boiling salted water; cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on the thickness of the spears) or until just tender (you want the asparagus to retain some crispness). Drain and refresh in iced water; then drain again. (if using immediately, skip refreshing).

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Sauté

Cut asparagus into thirds. Heat a little olive or butter in a frying pan over low-medium heat; cook the bottom two thirds of the asparagus for 1-2 minutes, then add the tips, cook, tossing gently for a further 2-3 minutes or until just tender.

Chargrill

This will impart a wonderful smoky flavour to many asparagus recipes. Thicker spears work best for this method. Heat a ridged grill plate. Toss asparagus with a little olive oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, rotating until lightly charred and just tender. You can also cook on a barbecue flat plate. If cooking on the barbecue grill, a handy trick is to run two soaked bamboo skewers through the top and bottom thirds of the asparagus spears; this will prevent them falling through the grill and means that they can be turned as a group.

Loaded asparagus and ricotta galette recipe — Loaded asparagus and ricotta galette (recipe link below).

How to buy good asparagus

When choosing asparagus for these spring recipes, look for bright, smooth spears with closed compact tips. Inspect the bases, they shouldn’t be discoloured or too dried looking, and the stems should be firm and not bendy. Size is not an indicator of quality; thin spears are just as tender as thick.

The best way to store asparagus

Wrap asparagus in a damp paper towel or a tea towel, then place in a plastic bag and refrigerate them in the vegie crisper or stand upright in the fridge in a container with about a centimetre of water, like cut flowers, and place a plastic bag over the top.

How to prepare asparagus for these recipes

Some cooks say to snap the ends off, however in the Test Kitchen we aren’t fans of this method as it wastes more of the spears. Instead, we suggest trimming about 2cm from the bottom of each spear to remove the tough fibrous ends. Peeling is unnecessary for green asparagus but benefits white asparagus spears should you chance on these.

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Vegetarian

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