There are many ways to cook asparagus, but as with most fresh vegetables, simple is best. In this recipe – asparagus with pecans – I combine one of my favorite vegetables – the asparagus – with my favorite nut – the pecan – and add just a touch of herb. Simple and oh so tasty. Because of its simplicity, it’s best to use young asparagus, steamed quickly for a nice firm but tender texture. Older, thick stalks don’t work as well for this dish, in my opinion.
I make this dish quite often because is so simple and comes together very fast, and, it can be served along side just about anything. It makes a great side for pan-seared chicken, grilled salmon, grilled chicken, lamb, pork or a great steak. It could also be served as a dish for a vegetarian meal along side a robust green salad, a pasta salad, or any vegetarian entree like this Swiss Chard Leek Quiche. Sometimes I’ll just throw this together for a quick, light lunch along with a piece of fruit or leftovers.
A simple and easy side dish with fresh asparagus, toasted pecans and a touch of herbiness.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- ½ pound asparagus tough ends removed
- ½ cup water or apple juice or apple cider for a sweeter bite
- ½ Tbsp. butter
- ½ cup pecans cut in half vertically
- ¼ tsp. dried thyme or 1 tsp. fresh thyme* (or tarragon)
- Sea salt and cracked pepper
- Lightly toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.
- Bring the water to a boil in the skillet. Add the asparagus, cover, cook 2 minutes or until crisp tender. When done, drain.
- In the same skillet melt the butter over medium-low heat. (Be sure to dry out the skillet before adding the butter).
- When the foam subsides, add the pecans, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minutes. Add the asparagus. Toss all ingredients together and heat through just before serving.
Cooking the asparagus – We like our asparagus crisp tender so for young asparagus stalks it takes “at most” 2 minutes. For thicker stalks it takes a minute or two longer. Just stick a fork in a stalk to test to see if it’s done to your likeness. You could also steam the asparagus, but once again, be careful not to overcook it. If you don’t plan to serve the asparagus right away, run the cooked asparagus under cold water to stop the cooking process. Complete steps 3 and 4 above just before serving.
Herbs – Thyme and tarragon both work well with asparagus. You can use one or the other or both.
April 2011
If you like this asparagus with pecans recipe you should enjoy these other asparagus recipes.
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Mayo on asparagus?! Oh my… I’ve never head of this, but considering how dreadful canned asparagus is, I can hardly blame you for trying to make it edible 😉 Love this recipe, MJ, and it’s funny you’re sharing this now as I’m in the middle of updating an old sauteed asparagus recipe on my blog which also uses nuts 🙂 I need to try this version because I love pecans and never considered pairing them with asparagus…
Thanks Mark! Yes, mayo on asparagus. I had to drown the canned asparagus with it to make it edible! 🙂 I hope you get to try this easy dish. It’s SO good.
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this is a perfect and easy side dish
Some time ago I had to throw together something to take to a friends last minute cookout. There was “nothing in the kitchen” so I started looking for stragglers in the back of the pantry and fridge. Along with stuffing the few remaining eggs and celery stalks, low and behold there was a can of asparagus in the pantry. What the heck. I ashamedly added the soggy stalks to my “relish” tray. No sooner than the tray hit the table the hostess’ mother and father devoured the asparagus. The oh so proper organic only hostess was mortified. With greasy green lips they explained, as you did, that all the asparagus they ate growing up was from a can and this was a fond reminder of the old days.
Jim just asked me what I was writing. He remembers that instance well, and how amazed everyone was that I had brought a canned anything. On the other hand, us old folks enjoy a bite of the past now and then.
That’s too much! Thanks for the story! -:)
Not mayo, Mama always used Miracle Whip. It was cheaper, served the same purpose, and didn’t have as strong a flavor. To this day I don’t like mayo.