Steamed Asparagus With Pistachios and Brown Butter

Name: Steamed Asparagus With Pistachios and Brown Butter
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds medium asparagus, tough ends snapped off; Salt and pepper; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons chopped sage, plus 12 whole sage leaves; 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest; 1/4 cup toasted pistachios, crushed

By David Tanis

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(191)
Comments: Read comments

This versatile brown butter sauce could enhance all sorts of other vegetables, or fish for that matter. But it just so happens to be a delightful pairing with perfectly cooked fresh green asparagus.

Featured in: Three Ways to Let Fresh Asparagus Shine

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

1½pounds medium asparagus, tough ends snapped off
Salt and pepper
4tablespoons unsalted butter
2tablespoons chopped sage, plus 12 whole sage leaves
2tablespoons lemon juice, plus ½ teaspoon lemon zest
¼cup toasted pistachios, crushed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put a large wide skillet on the stove. Add about 1 inch water, salt it well, cover the skillet, and place over high heat. When water comes to a rapid boil, add asparagus in one layer, cover, and cook for 2 minutes, or just until barely done.
Step 2
Drain asparagus and keep warm loosely wrapped in a kitchen towel.
Step 3
Return skillet to stovetop over high heat. Add butter and swirl pan, then add chopped sage and sage leaves.
Step 4
When butter gets foamy, lightly browned and nutty-smelling, a minute or two, stir in lemon juice and zest and turn the heat to low.
Step 5
Put cooked asparagus back in pan and season with salt and pepper. Shake pan gently to coat with butter sauce. Using tongs, transfer asparagus to a large warmed platter. Spoon remaining sauce over asparagus, sprinkle with pistachios and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

191 user ratings

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Comments

FloridaBrit7 years ago

FWIW - When asparagus stalks are trimmed and soaked for an hour in water (salted or not) and drained prior to cooking, the odiferous after effects of eating asparagus are virtually eliminated.

Discovered years ago by accident when preparing asparagus for dinner and right at the point of rinsing them in the saute pan, the phone rang so I left them to soak. After an hour's chat, I drained off the soaking water and proceeded to cook as usual - and observed there were no after effects.

Timothy CLARK7 years ago

What asparagus loses immediately is its sugar. (Yes I used to grow it and immediately noted that loss — altho I adored the chlorophyl.) So, as I have done for decades, bring your asparagus home, swirl some sugar (oh… vanilla sugar) in a water jar, cut an inch off the asparagus, push it into the sugar water… and let it rest until cooking. Always wonderful.

Shelley7 years ago

Important to note that the water, as well as the asparagus, should be removed from the pan before the butter is added, right?

Omer Tarzi6 years ago

first cooked with sage leaves but 2nd time used only asparagus with lemon sauce and butter, feeling the asparagus itself with no other instrument is much better ! you can serve it also with grilled meat as I did. Friends loved it.

jimmy Joe Bob7 years ago

Butter was overwhelming, and the sage didn't help. No, thanks.

kate7 years ago

Maybe my fresh home grown sage wasn't strong enough? Maybe my pencil thin asparagus could've been fresher? Maybe I didn't toast the pistachios enough? All in all--- meh.

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