Butter-Braised Asparagus
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½pounds large or medium asparagus
- 6tablespoons butter
- Salt and pepper
- 2tablespoons lemon juice
- ½teaspoon lemon zest
- 1tablespoon snipped chives
- 1tablespoon roughly chopped parsley or chervil
- 1teaspoon chopped tarragon, plus more for garnish
- 1tablespoon chopped dill, plus more for garnish (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
191 calories; 18 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 470 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Snap off and discard the tough bottoms of the asparagus spears. If using large, thick asparagus, peel the lower ends with a vegetable peeler.
- Step 2
Put butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Add ½ cup water, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus is firm-tender, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook them; they should still be bright green. (They will continue to cook a bit once the heat is off.) Remove the asparagus from the pan and place on a serving platter.
- Step 3
Turn heat to high and simmer briskly until most of the liquid has evaporated, a minute or so. Add lemon juice and zest to the buttery juices. Turn off heat and stir in chives, parsley, tarragon and dill, if using. Check seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, garnish with a few herb leaves, and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Another thing to do, is to take the discarded parts. Zap them in the microwave and puree it. Add butter and some spice and serve along side as a buttery sauce.
Julia Child recommended peeling one's medium and large asparagus spears. One important change you can make it to NOT break off the spears. I line them up and cut about 1/2 inch off the shortest spear and size all the others to that size. After peeling, the part that is .normally discarded is often the best part of the spear. The peeling is quite easy if you buy one of the recommended asparagus peelers from Amazon.com. I love fresh asparagus in the springtime.
I like this braising method of preparation. My trick for peeling the stalks is to flatten them down with one hand on a cutting board and shave the peels with the other hand into a plastic bag in the sink. Roll the stalk to peel all sides. Also, I find butter, salt and pepper is enough seasoning, although fresh sage on them in addition is quite good.
Excellent way to do asparagus. The butter-lemon-herb sauce fits perfectly with it.
My family really like this dish! I omitted the brine because my dressing was salty enough without it. Would be a nice side for a dinner party.
These were delicious. I was in a rush so needed to skip the fresh herbs and they were still a hit with my family. With the fresh herbs, these will be stellar.
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