It’s the start of springtime and that means a new abundance of fresh and exciting produce. I’m starting to see the first stone fruit in Israel – loquats, peaches and nectarines. Fresh garlic has peaked and I’ve stocked up as usual. And there’s even asparagus on supermarket shelves. I was working on a spring-themed meal for a piece in the Jewish Daily Forward (read it here) and wanted to combine asparagus – something I associate with springtime back home – and fresh garlic, which I will forever associate with springtime in Israel.
The asparagus is simply steamed, so it’s really the garlic that takes this dish from standard to super. There’s garlic confit, which is garlic slowly cooked in olive oil until tender. Then there’s crispy fried garlic chips, inspired by Beth Michelle’s lovely dish with carrots, goat cheese, and crispy garlic. The olive oil from both the confit and the fried garlic is infused with garlicky goodness and drizzled over the asparagus for a fabulous final touch.
- 1 bunch asparagus (about 10 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 15 or so cloves garlic confit (get recipe here)
- Coarse salt
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, just until tender.
- Drain the asparagus and rinse under cold water to keep it bright green. Dry and transfer to a serving plate.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Cook until lightly browned and crispy on both sides (be careful not to burn).
- Drizzle the oil and crispy garlic over the asparagus and sprinkle with garlic confit cloves.
- Season with coarse salt and serve.
Looks yummy…. we eat asparagus 4x a week here at Chez Webb 🙂
Love asparagus prepared at any way! Yum!
Love your pix in this post – so pretty and two of my fave things 🙂
Love your preparation of asparagus! Asparagus doesn’t need much more than a little bit of tasty fat and some salt and pepper. It’s so good and I can’t way to see all of the creative preparations for it. Great hop! Thanks for hosting and have a marvelous weekend!
I adore asparagus and garlic … therefore, I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Asparagus is one of the very best things about Spring! What a beautiful, rustic dish.
I love garlic! I’ll eat it almost anything (I haven’t tried it in oatmeal, but I don’t know why not!). This looks so nice – and garlic and asparagus pair so well together. Really good stuff – thanks.
And as your part of the world warms under the glow of the sun, we are starting to feel the bitter chill of the winter to come… lovely recipe Katherine!
What a delicious recipe for asparagus, Katherine! Great spring theme for your get-together today! Hope you’re having a lovely spring!
Ciao,
Roz
Lovely recipe and I shall not wait until our spring to try it! Even tho’ I am very careful about my carbon print 🙂 !
Your asparagus photo is stunning, Katherine! I’m so happy to see asparagus in the market now – a sure sign of spring, and nothing beats it’s green, grassy flavor. Love the thought of crispy garlic!