Spring Ramen Bowl With Snap Peas And Asparagus Recipes

SAUTEED ASPARAGUS AND SNAP PEAS

Steps:

• Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and slice the stalks diagonally into 2-inch pieces. Snap off the stem ends of the snap peas and pull the string down the length of the vegetable.
• Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan over a medium heat and add the asparagus and snap peas. Add the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste, if desired. Cook for approximately 5 to10 minutes until al dente, tossing occasionally. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve hot.

SPRING RAMEN BOWL WITH SNAP PEAS AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and set the top parts aside. Combine the tough asparagus ends, mushrooms, garlic and 9 cups water in a stockpot or saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add kombu, remove from the heat, and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain out and discard the solids and return the broth to the stockpot.
• While the broth is simmering, prepare the frizzled scallions, if using: Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Test temperature by adding a piece of scallion; it should sizzle on contact. Add scallions and cook, stirring frequently, until brown all over but not burned. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt and allow to cool. (Use within a few hours.)
• In a tall glass or measuring cup, combine miso and a ladleful of hot broth. Purée thoroughly with an immersion blender until smooth. (Alternately, carefully purée in a blender.) Pour mixture back into the stockpot and bring to a bare simmer. Add salt and taste, adding more if necessary. Keep covered over low heat until ready to serve.
• Use a vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus spears into ribbons. (It's easiest to do this by laying them flat on a cutting board, and using a Y peeler.)
• Bring another saucepan of salted water to boil and prepare an ice bath. Remove the fibrous strings from the snap peas. (To do so, pinch one end and pull along the straight edge of the pea as if it's a zipper.) Once the water comes to a boil, add snap peas and blanch for 90 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer peas to the ice bath. Reserve the boiling water.
• Add noodles to the boiling water, in a strainer or the pasta insert that comes with a stockpot, and cook until tender, usually 4 to 7 minutes for dried or 60 to 90 seconds for fresh. Lift out the noodles, reserving the cooking water, and rinse the noodles thoroughly under cold running water. Quickly dunk them back into the hot water to reheat. Divide among four bowls.
• Just before serving, wave the nori squares over the flame of a gas burner a few times, until the corners curl and they turn crisp, or roast under a broiler, flipping periodically. Slice into thin strips with a chef's knife or crumble with your fingers.
• Arrange asparagus, snap peas and egg halves, if using, over the noodles in each bowl. Add a pinch of lemon zest and a few gratings of ginger to each bowl, then cover with the piping hot broth. Divide frizzled scallions on top, if using, then garnish each serving with a few drops of sesame oil and the nori. Serve immediately.

HOW TO COOK ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Asparagus is best and freshest in spring from a local source. Generally, the West Coast season runs from February to May; East Coast asparagus appears in May and June. Asparagus from Peru is available year-round, of course, but it is not as good.At the market, look for spears that are brightly colored and have compact, tightly closed tips. Spears that are ridged or look dry have lost their flavor. Check the root ends to see how dried out they are; if they are truly brown, reach for a different bundle.For stovetop cooking, a stainless steel or enamel-coated cast-iron pot is best. If you're stir-frying, you'll need a wok or a deep-sided cast iron skillet. For roasting, use a baking sheet or a small roasting pan.Asparagus cooks quickly, so make sure to have all your ingredients ready by the stove. It's best served warm or room temperature; ice-cold asparagus is unpleasant.
• Asparagus comes in different shades and sizes, and each has its strengths. Here are some tips on how best to choose, clean and store it. There are three colors of asparagus: green, purple and white. Green asparagus is by far the most common and is available year-round in American supermarkets. You'll find thin, medium and fat green spears in almost any market. Whatever its thickness, green asparagus should be cooked al dente. White asparagus is more common in Europe. It is white because the plants are covered in mulch to prevent them from developing chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color. White asparagus must be completely peeled from tip to tail, and, unlike green, should be well-cooked. It is a mistake to cook green and white asparagus together. Purple asparagus has a beautiful violet skin that turns dark green when cooked. Its taste is similar to that of green asparagus. Asparagus usually comes in three sizes: Pencil-thin, medium and jumbo. The thickness of the asparagus does not indicate its maturity; a thin asparagus spear does not grow into a fat one. What you'll choose is based on personal preference and what you're cooking. Some describe thin spears as grassy or thicker ones as meaty.Thin asparagus is great for stir fries and sautéing. Fat asparagus is good for roasting or grilling, and best when you want to serve whole spears, even simply steamed. Medium spears work in almost any cooking method. Store your asparagus in your crisper drawer, wrapped in a damp paper towel and then in a plastic bag, no longer than three days. Do not clean it first. Or you can store asparagus upright in a container with an inch of water. Place it in the fridge, uncovered.
• Before you begin cooking, take a minute to snap or cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus. If you have nice fat spears, peel their tough skin away too. We'll show you how. Snapping off woody asparagus bottoms gives you spears of slightly different lengths, but guarantees no tough ends when you sit down to eat. To snap, hold a spear with both hands and find the natural bending point near the bottom of the stalk. Then snap. Make sure your hands really are near the bottom, or you risk discarding too much; a stalk will snap in the middle if you're not careful. The spear should break at a point where the asparagus has started to lose its moisture.Cutting your spears is fine as long as you take care to avoid the woody ends. (But please, don't use the discarded ends to make anything but compost.)The skin on larger asparagus spears doesn't soften with cooking, which is why it's best to peel the lower stalks of medium or fat spears, both green and purple. Always peel white asparagus.To peel, place the spear flat on your work surface. Using a vegetable peeler, preferably one with a swivel blade, peel the asparagus from about halfway up the spear toward the root end. Never peel the tips. Use a light hand, or you'll peel off too much of the sweet core. Asparagus can be peeled a few hours ahead of time, wrapped and refrigerated.
• Roasting asparagus allows for a slight caramelizing of the vegetable's skin, and it's just luscious. It's also a fast way to get delicious asparagus on the table without standing at the stove.Here's a very simple method for roasting that just requires olive oil, salt and pepper, but you can add other spices as well: cayenne, red pepper flakes or smoked salt. Or try chopped walnuts, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.Heat your oven to 425 degrees, and dress asparagus spears lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan in one layer and roast until lightly browned and sizzling, and just firm-tender. If you are roasting on a baking sheet, that should take 10 to 12 minutes, or about 15 minutes in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan. The trick here is getting the spears nicely colored without overcooking them, and you should always err on the undercooked side - asparagus will continue to cook off the heat.
• Simply steamed or simmered asparagus is delicious, and you can dress the spears however you like: in a bagna cauda, or a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil, or nothing at all. These are very easy cooking methods, and any size spear will work, although medium is best. We'll also tell you how to blanch asparagus, a useful method when incorporating the vegetable into other dishes. It's easy to cook asparagus in a steamer. Bring one inch of well-salted water to boil in a pot with a steamer insert, and place the spears in the steamer in a single layer. (If necessary, work in batches; do not pile in the asparagus or try to cook too many at a time.) Cover the pot and cook for about 3 minutes, depending upon size of spears. Err on the undercooked side - asparagus will continue to cook off the heat. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and blot the excess water away with a towel.Simmering asparagus is another easy way to cook asparagus quickly, and a good option if you don't own a steamer. In a wide pot, boil a few inches of generously salted water and add your asparagus. Cook at a rapid simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of your asparagus. Again, don't cook too many at one time; a dozen in the pot at once is plenty. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and blot to remove any remaining water. Old recipes sometimes call for using twine to tie asparagus into bundles, to make it easier to retrieve them from the water. If you do, blot the cooked bundle, transfer to a platter and snip the twine with kitchen shears. Some recipes, such as spring pasta dishes, call for blanching asparagus. It's easy to do. In a wide pot, boil a few inches of generously salted water and add your asparagus, either whole stalks or cut into pieces. Cook at a rapid simmer for 1 minutes. Then immediately plunge the spears into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking and to keep them green. Remove from ice water and blot, otherwise risk waterlogged asparagus.
• Tender, sweet asparagus can be delicious raw and dressed simply with olive oil, lemon and salt. And you don't even need to turn on your stove.Fat asparagus works best in raw preparations, like this fast recipe for a delicious asparagus salad.Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, slice 6 to 8 fat asparagus spears very thinly on the diagonal. (Alternatively, you can cut them on a mandoline, or use a peeler to slice them lengthwise into long, thin ribbons.) Pile them into a bowl and dress with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Toss and serve.
• Asparagus is great quickly stir-fried or sautéed over high heat. You could sauté spears in butter or olive oil with delicious results, but throwing some chopped herbs or sliced chiles into the pan adds wonderful flavor. Both of these methods produce juicy asparagus that retains its crunch.Thin spears are best for sautéeing or stir-frying. For Asian recipes, use a wok if you have one; otherwise, a cast-iron skillet or large sauté pan will work fine. Here's a simple method for spicy wok-fried asparagus (you can leave out the spicy elements if you wish): Cut 6 to 8 cleaned and trimmed medium asparagus spears into 2-inch lengths. In a wok or cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until nearly smoking. Add the asparagus to the wok or skillet, season generously with salt and pepper and cook about 2 minutes until it is bright green, stirring constantly and making sure that the asparagus is coated completely with oil. Then, add 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon grated ginger and one finely chopped serrano or other hot chile pepper. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a serving platter and scatter on top a handful of chopped fresh basil, mint or cilantro leaves (or all three.) And here's how to sauté asparagus: Heat a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cut 6 to 8 cleaned and trimmed medium asparagus spears into 2-inch lengths. Add olive oil or butter to pan; when hot, add asparagus, season generously with salt and pepper and cook about 3 to 4 minutes, until bright green, shaking or stirring the pan frequently. The key is to cook the asparagus just enough so that the exterior browns a bit, but the interior remains crunchy. Finish it with anything you like: a squeeze of lemon, a favorite sweet vinegar, a fistful of chopped herbs.
• Frying asparagus is easier than it sounds, and results in crispy, tender spears that you won't want to stop eating. Don't forget a good dipping sauce.You'll need a deep heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven, to make tempura, and a thermometer to test the temperature of your oil. Medium spears work best. Here's an easy method:In your heavy-bottomed pot on the stovetop, heat three inches or so of vegetable oil until it reaches 360 degrees. While it heats, in a bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 tablespoons corn starch and ½ teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups ice water and 2 eggs, lightly beaten, and then add that to the flour mixture. Mix it briefly with a fork or chopsticks, but do not overbeat; lumps are fine. Dip your cleaned, snapped asparagus spears in the batter and drop them gently in the hot oil. Fry for about two minutes, until the spears are just lightly browned. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain on absorbent paper.

ASPARAGUS WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Cut off and discard about 2 inches of the stem ends of the asparagus. The remaining spears should be about 6 inches long.
• Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil in a saucepan and add salt.
• Preheat the broiler to high.
• Add the asparagus to the water. When the water returns to a boil, let cook 3 minutes or to the desired degree of doneness. Cooking time will depend on the size of the asparagus. Drain quickly.
• Arrange the asparagus in overlapping layers on a baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and butter. Place under the broiler for about 2 1/2 minutes or until the cheese is glazed.

PASTA WITH SUGAR SNAP PEAS, ASPARAGUS AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Add asparagus to large pot of boiling salted water.
• Cook until just crisp-tender.
• Transfer to bowl of cold water using slotted spoon.
• Cool asparagus slightly and drain.
• Add pasta to same pot of water and boil until just tender but still firm to bite.
• Add sugar snap peas and boil 2 minutes.
• Add asparagus and heat through.
• Drain well.
• Return pasta-vegetable mixture to pot.
• Add oil and toss to coat.
• Add 1/2 cup cheese.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

PASTA WITH SUGAR SNAP PEAS, ASPARAGUS AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Add asparagus to large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until just crisp-tender. Transfer to bowl of cold water using slotted spoon. Cool asparagus slightly and drain. Add pasta to same pot of water and boil until just tender but still firm to bite. Add sugar snap peas and boil 2 minutes. Add asparagus and heat through. Drain will. Return pasta-vegetable mixture to pot. Add oil and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese separately.