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
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Lightly toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.
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Bring the water to a boil in the skillet. Add the asparagus, cover, cook 2 minutes or until crisp tender. When done, drain.
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In the same skillet melt the butter over medium-low heat. (Be sure to dry out the skillet before adding the butter).
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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