Asparagus Spears ... Strong

By Shelby Spears

Asparagus is in season. It’s delicious and nutritious so I thought it would make a great recipe blog post. 

With gusto and determination to find the perfect recipe, I headed to Pinterest. 

First I tried asparagus lemon risotto. The risotto was good but the asparagus was mushy. 

So I tried quinoa spinach salad with asparagus. 

Too sweet. Not super exciting. 

Both of these were new recipes which meant they took a little extra effort and, I have to admit, ended in a bit of frustration. We still ate them and they weren’t bad, but not particularly blog worthy. 

Faced with bundles of asparagus staring us down in the fridge, Jonathan was up to give it a whirl and what he came up with reminded me of one of the most important things to remember when cooking. 

Keep It Simple Stupid. 

A harsh phrase maybe but one that always sticks in my mind, partly with a giggle if you’re a fan of the TV show The Office. 

This recipe has five ingredients: salt, pepper, oil, asparagus... and the most important ingredient - the iron skillet. 

The key is to get it nice and warm in a high-medium heat with a little oil of choice. Plop the asparagus in the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and walk away.

Resist the urge to poke, prod and turn those little spears. Leaving them in place for a few minutes will give them a nice char. Then simply flip and wait. 

My mouth waters thinking about these iron skillet charred asparagus. Best - and easiest- asparagus I’ve ever had.