How to cook asparagus spears perfectly, then dress with olive oil, parmesan, and lemon zest. Quick and Easy Asparagus Quick and easy asparagus recipes with bacon recipe!

Cook asparagus spears perfectly, then dress with olive oil, parmesan, and lemon zest. Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University. One of the quickest and easiest ways to prepare fresh asparagus is to simply blanch them for a couple of minutes and toss them with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and lemon zest. Boiling them for only a couple of minutes ensures that the asparagus will be cooked through, but still crisp and vibrant green. A little lemon zest helps brighten the natural flavor of the asparagus, and the Parm and olive oil? Well, of course, they make everything taste good.

To tell if asparagus is fresh, look for stalks that are a rich, deep green color that get lighter toward the end of the stalk. The stalks should be firm to the touch. Pass by any stalks that are limp or dry with cracked ends. The tips of the asparagus should be tightly closed and the stalks should be uniform for even cooking. It’s always important to clean fresh produce before preparing it. Asparagus can have grit in its tips, so the first thing you should do is rinse it under cold water. Then you can prepare asparagus for cooking.