Cooking Asparagus, common Questions and Cooking pro Answers

Cooking asparagus common questions
Cover picture FAQ Cooking asparagus.

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is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.

FAQ Cooking Asparagus I answer you in this article. You can find my cooking tips on peeling asparagus elsewhere. For the sake of clarity, I have summarised all the cooking questions about cooking asparagus here in one place.

Have fun reading! At the end of the page you can leave me your own question or kitchen gossip via the comment function!

1. Can I prepare asparagus cut into pieces?

Spargelgemüse im Topf

Peel the asparagus and cut in half lengthwise, depending on the thickness of the asparagus spears. Cut the asparagus spears into 2 cm long pieces and sauté with butter. Steam the vegetables with the lid on for 5 minutes, season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg and cook until al dente.

2. Do I need an asparagus pot to cook asparagus?

Spargel im Topf gekocht

You can cook asparagus floating in a wide pot. A tall asparagus pot is not absolutely necessary. Season the stock with salt, pepper, sugar, butter or olive oil. After boiling, reduce the temperature and gently simmer the asparagus just below boiling point.

3. Can asparagus be grilled raw without cooking?

Spargel mit typischem Muster, der gegrillte Spargel in der Pfanne.

You can cook asparagus spears on the charcoal grill or gas grill for about 30 minutes over indirect heat. As a cooking professional, I recommend cooking the asparagus briefly. Then cook them on the grill or in the grill pan for the final time.

4. How can I prepare asparagus sous vide?

Spargel sous vide

Vacuum cooking works excellently with asparagus: Season the peeled asparagus spears with salt, pepper and sugar. Then vacuum-cook them with cold butter. Cook the asparagus spears in the bag at 85°C for about 50 minutes and serve.

5. How do I peel asparagus correctly?

Spargel weiß schälen

For white asparagus, start peeling just below the tips. With green asparagus, peel the ends of the asparagus at a length of approx. 4-6 cm. The article Peeling asparagus shows you how to do it step by step.

6. Which spices harmonise with asparagus?

Gründer Spargel beim Kochen im Topf.

As a cooking professional, I recommend black or white pepper, a few cayenne peppers, primal salt or Himalayan salt as well as brown raw cane sugar and freshly grated nutmeg.

7. How can I prepare asparagus in the oven?

Spargel für Backofen

You can cook peeled, raw asparagus spears at 200°C directly on baking paper, open, on a baking tray in the oven. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and sugar. You can also wrap the asparagus in baking paper or aluminium foil. The cooking time is about 25-30 minutes. You can find recipe ideas here in the article.

8. Can I grill or roast asparagus in the pan?

Spargel braten

Peel the asparagus spears, boil them briefly and then grill and fry them in a hot pan. You can find detailed instructions here in the article.

9. Can I pickle cooked asparagus in vinegar?

Spargel marinieren

You can marinade cooked asparagus with vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, herbs and oil and serve asparagus as a salad or asparagus pieces as an addition to your dishes for several days.

10. Which sauces go well with cooked asparagus?

Spargel mit Soße

You can serve asparagus with cold sauces such as pesto genovese, carrot green pesto, wild garlic pesto or with a sauce made from boiled eggs. Warm sauces include the classics hollandaise sauce, bernaise sauce and butter sauce. Butter sauce is browned butter and is known as such in northern Germany.

11. What are the advantages of steaming asparagus?

Deko Spargel

Steaming asparagus works with a steamer or a pot with a sieve attachment over boiling water with the lid closed. Steaming retains more vitamins and minerals in the vegetables. The asparagus tastes more strongly of asparagus. A good temperature range for asparagus spears is 85-95 °C and a cooking time of about 30 minutes. Please note: The cooking time depends on the thickness of the asparagus spears!

12. As a cooking professional, can you recommend a special asparagus seasoning?

Sesam Gewürzset Kochbox

I like to combine asparagus classically with crispy fried wild garlic leaves. This year, I see sesame in the various Furikake spice variations as a trend. Wasabi sesame, ume plum sesame, kimchi sesame and yuzu offer an extraordinary taste experience. I have put together a sesame cooking box for this.

13. Asparagus Recipe Ideas