Asparagus with Herbs and Anchovies

If you don’t like anchovies, this recipe is definitely not for you. Somewhere I had seen a recipe that used a “salsa” of many herbs and anchovies. I wish I could find it again and post it, but lacking that I created a variation on that mixture.

My version of this salsa was more to taste than exacting. I julienned basil and chopped cilantro, parsley, arugula, and rosemary. I then chopped half a can of anchovies and added those with about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil. You can certainly use the oil from the anchovy can – I have also tried that, too. Add some freshly ground pepper, mix your herbs and anchovies together, and you’re done with the salsa. You can add salt, but I find it unnecessary because of the salty anchovies.

Next, I chopped a bunch of asparagus into bite-sized pieces (and I had snapped the stems off before chopping). I sauteed them with olive oil and garlic only for a few minutes so that the asparagus was still crunchy, but not soggy.

Then, I married the salsa with the asparagus. Very easy to do and very flavorful. I have also tried the salsa with roasted broccoli, which I think tastes even better.

Mark Bittman’s Roasted Asparagus with Crunchy Parmesan

Asparagus – the time is now!  Mark Bittman says that frankly, anything is good with parmesan on top.  He might be right. Nonetheless, this is a great, simple way to enjoy the season’s best offerings:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/01/dining/100000001453916/asparagus-gratin.html

I had not thought about peeling away the top layer of the asparagus, but I’m going to start doing that with my next batch of asparagus. Should be pretty darn tasty.