Roasted Asparagus And Scallion Quiche Food

ROASTED PEPPER, SCALLION AND SAUSAGE QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375˚. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pie dough and crimp as desired; chill 30 minutes. Line with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the crust is set, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until lightly golden, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let cool while you prepare the filling.
• Make the filling: Combine the roasted peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Add the sausage and cheddar and toss to combine.
• Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the parsley. Spread the vegetable-cheese mixture in the crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚ and bake until the filling is set, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND SCALLION QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Break off and discard woody ends of asparagus and place asparagus on the baking sheet. Drizzle on 1 tablespoon of the oil, add salt and pepper to taste and toss together with your hands until asparagus is thoroughly coated with oil. Place in oven and roast 12 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned in spots, turning asparagus halfway through. Remove asparagus from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle it. Slice into 1/2 to 3/4-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl.
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and add scallions. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Transfer to bowl with asparagus. Add tarragon and parsley and toss together.
• Beat together egg yolks and eggs in a medium bowl. Set tart pan on a baking sheet to allow for easy handling. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom of the crust with some of the beaten egg and place in oven for 5 minutes.
• Add salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, and milk to remaining eggs and whisk together.
• Spread scallion and asparagus mixture in an even layer in the crust. Stir together cheeses and sprinkle evenly on top. Very slowly pour in egg custard over the filling. If your tart pan has low edges, you may not need all of it to fill the shell, and you want to keep the custard from spilling over. Place quiche, on baking sheet, in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and just beginning to color on the top. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

HOW TO MAKE QUICHE

Steps:

• Of all the savory pastries in the French canon, from flaky croissants to cheese-laden gougères, tarts are the ones that are made at home just as frequently as they are ordered in restaurants and picked up at takeout shops. You'll find tarts served as a starter for dinner, as the focal point of a light lunch or as a main course at weekend brunch. They come in many styles, with much regional variation. Of all the classics, the elegant quiche is the best known. In its most traditional form, a quiche is composed of a buttery short-crust pastry shell holding a silky egg custard and a savory filling. And although the quiche has gone international, charming its way into North American and British culture, the French are the ones who innovated and then perfected the recipe, particularly the rich, buttery dough called pâte brisée. Once you master this dough, you will find that quiche becomes dead simple to make. And you can do so with ingredients you may already have: eggs and cream. The French treat tarts and quiches as an economical way to use meat or vegetables that are lying around, combining odds and ends into a harmonious result. You will find countless variations in fillings - salmon quiches, eggplant tarts.But it is the modest onion that often stars in a French tart. Onions are mainstays in French cuisine, flavoring meats and sauces, and soups and stews. But they fare just as well, if not better, on their own, as the main attraction.Cooked slowly in butter until satiny and soft, onions add flavor and texture to the custard of a classic quiche. Sweet caramelized onions are mixed with anchovies to top the Provençal tart called pissaladière. And minced onions are combined with bacon and fromage blanc (a soft, yogurtlike cheese), then baked pizza-style at high heat, to make a tangy, crunchy tarte flambée, popular in Alsace and the surrounding area. Each tart highlights onions in a different way, and they're all worth taking the time to get to know.
• Savory open-faced tarts are derived from pies, which were known to have been baked in ancient Egypt and Rome, though the tradition most likely goes back much further. In those early pies, the crust was merely a vessel for containing the fillings while they slowly baked. The whole pie wasn't meant to be eaten - just its contents, which could be as simple as ground meat and potatoes, or as elaborate as scores of roasted quail, pheasants, peacocks and even whole, stuffed lambs. (Those 4 and 20 blackbirds of nursery rhymes were not that far-fetched.) Across Europe, there were gigantic, ceremonial pies for special occasions, and small, plainer pies meant to be eaten cold, with the pastry standing in for a napkin to catch the juices. Since pie pastry was not meant to be consumed, it tended to be coarse and unappetizing, though when it was soaked in meat juices after baking, it became palatable enough for the servants. There was even a trade in selling leftover pastry to the poor, who gathered outside castles and estates to wait for crusts to gnaw on. Open-faced tarts were a Medieval innovation, dating roughly to the 14th century. These new tarts could be made savory or sweet (or sometimes both, in the best Medieval tradition), and they were baked with a more delicate pastry that was meant to be delicious. In France, tarts made with the dough known as pâte brisée were cataloged in La Varenne's "Le Patissier François" (1653), the first cookbook to codify French pastry arts and much of grand cuisine. The egg and bacon tart we know today as quiche Lorraine originated in the area of the same name, in northeast France, a region whose culture and cuisine were highly influenced by neighboring Germany. (Quiche itself was most likely derived from German kuchen; that may also be the source of its name.) It dates to the early 19th century, though its myriad variations, including quiche aux oignons, did not become popular around France until the early 20th century. Then there is tarte flambée (also known as flammekueche), the yeasted tart made with onion, bacon and fromage blanc, which hails from neighboring Alsace. And the south of France is home to yet another famous onion tart: pissaladière, a thin, square, pizzalike dish topped with onions, anchovies, olives and herbs. Its name comes from pissala, an anchovy and sardine purée made from locally caught and salted fish - a briny regional flavor that shines alongside the sweetness of the onions. Above, "Still Life With a Pie" by Clara Peeters.
• Quiche or tart pan It's best to use a 9-inch metal pan with a removable bottom. While you can use a glass or ceramic quiche pan, you won't be able to remove the quiche from the pan before serving. It's also smart to place the pan on a baking sheet before it goes into the oven. This helps distribute the heat, which cooks the quiche evenly, and it eliminates the chance the pan will leak in your oven.Food processor Dough comes together quickly in a food processor, but take care not to overprocess it. A pastry cutter is inexpensive and works well, too; some people prefer it because using one makes it much harder to overwork the dough. If you don't have either, use your fingers to work the butter into the dough. Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to the best food processors.Rolling pin French rolling pins tend to be made of one solid, smooth piece of wood, and often have tapered ends. But you can use any kind of rolling pin you've got - or even a wine bottle in a pinch.Pie weights Empty tart crusts are often prebaked (a process known as blind baking) before they are filled and returned to the oven to finish. This gives you a browned crust that won't get soggy. Weights keep the dough from shrinking as it bakes. If you don't have them, use rice, dried beans or pennies (rinse in soapy water and dry them first).
• Sweet bits of onion suffuse this tart, which gets its brawny, salty tang from browned chunks of cured pork (lardons, pancetta or bacon). Both delicate and rich, it makes a lovely lunch or brunch dish, one best served warm or at room temperature on the day you baked it.
• The secrets to a successful onion quiche: a flaky butter crust and perfectly pale, tender onions in the custard filling. • High-fat European-style butter produces the flakiest crust. If you can find it, it's worth the extra cost. • Always make sure that the butter is cold when you start, and that the dough stays cold as you work with it. If it starts to soften at any time, put it in the refrigerator to firm up. • When you cut the butter into the flour, either by hand or by using the food processor, you want lima-bean-size pieces of butter. These big pieces of butter will make the dough flaky; as they melt in the oven, they release steam, which creates air pockets. These air pockets are the flakes that make a light and crisp crust. (This is also why you want to keep the butter cold as you work with the dough. It ensures that the butter won't melt into the flour as you blend it, but will stay in distinct pieces.) • As you roll the dough, keep it moving around on your countertop, flipping it over and adding more flour if it starts to stick. By flipping and moving it around as you roll, you avoid rolling it into your countertop and having to add too much flour. (Too much flour can make the dough dry and tough.) • Chill the dough after you roll it out and fit it into the pan. This firms it up before baking, which helps prevent the dough from shrinking too much in the oven's heat.• Choose large white or Spanish onions with high water content and some bite. Avoid sweet onions such as Vidalias, which could make the tart cloying. • The onions are cooked slowly and gently, so they don't take on too much color. Make sure to use enough butter and oil to cover the bottom of the pan before you add the onions. You need to smother your onions in the fat so they remain pale and turn very soft. An hour may sound like a long time, but low and slow is the best way to go here.• If the onions start to brown, turn down the heat a little, from medium to medium-low. Stir them around often, and scrape up any lightly browned bits on the bottom or sides of the pan so the browning doesn't spread. It is fine if there is a little browning, but you don't want too much. If browning is an issue, keep the heat low and increase the cooking time. Low and slow will keep browning at bay.• Adding a tablespoon or two of flour to the onions helps thicken the quiche filling, and it also reduces sogginess after baking. Sprinkle flour over the onions at least 5 minutes before they are done cooking, so the raw flavor in the flour will be cooked out.• In an ideal world, you would serve your quiche within an hour of baking, while it's still warm from the oven. But you can assemble and bake within six hours of serving. • Always let the quiche cool for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack (which lets air circulate around the pan) before trying to remove from the pan. This is both to avoid burning yourself, and to allow the pastry to set, so it's more stable and less likely to break. • The dough and onions can be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled. You can even prebake the crust the day before; keep it at room temperature, covered. • Don't refrigerate your quiche if you can avoid it. It leads to soggy pastry. • If you want to reheat a room-temperature quiche before serving, place it, uncovered, in a 300-degree oven and let it warm up for 10 to 20 minutes. (If it has been in the refrigerator, add another 10 minutes or so.)
• Feel free to play with fillings and flavors, swapping in ingredients as you like. Just be sure to keep the custard ratios the same: 1 egg to 1/3 cup heavy cream. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs to the onion quiche recipe above to give it freshness and verve. Basil, thyme, cilantro, chervil and chives work nicely. You could also add 1/4 cup chopped pitted black or green olives, either in place of the herbs or in addition to them. Substitute other cheese for the Gruyère, including Cheddar, blue cheese, feta, manchego, gouda or firm goat cheese. Or you could eliminate the cheese entirely if you prefer. Skip the bacon or pancetta and add 1 to 2 ounces smoked fish to the quiche instead. You don't need to brown the fish first; just dice it and add scatter over the prebaked crust in place of the lardons. Smoked salmon, white fish and trout are all great options. Substitute 1 1/2 to 2 cups of other cooked vegetables for the onions. Good candidates include sautéed spinach or chard; roasted or sautéed mushrooms, eggplant or zucchini; or roasted tomatoes or butternut squash.
• Here is another onion tart from the French tradition, a baker's treat that used the yeasted dough left over from making bread. It was topped with onions, bacon and fromage blanc, and baked until the dough puffed and the onions singed at the edges. This version uses a biscuitlike crust instead, adapted from the chef Gabriel Kreuther. Serve this as an appetizer or a light main course, or for brunch.
• Caramelized onions, briny anchovies and olives make the up the topping for this Provençal tart. Our version calls for a yeasted dough, which makes the tart somewhat like a pizza. But puff pastry, which Julia Child preferred, is also traditional, and quite a bit richer. Pissaladière makes great picnic fare, in addition to being a terrific appetizer or lunch dish.
• Photography Food styling: Alison Attenborough. Prop styling: Beverley Hyde. Additional photography: Karsten Moran for The New York Times. Additional styling: Jade Zimmerman. Video Food styling: Chris Barsch and Jade Zimmerman. Art direction: Alex Brannian. Prop styling: Catherine Pearson. Director of photography: James Herron. Camera operators: Tim Wu and Zack Sainz. Editing: Will Lloyd and Adam Saewitz. Additional editing: Meg Felling.
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• Sole Meunière

ROASTED ASPARGUS WITH SCALLIONS AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, scallions, and the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. Toss to coat well. (Time willing, I try to combine the ingredients at least an hour in advance to allow the mixture to marinate.).
• Transfer the asparagus to a baking sheet and arrange in single layer.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast 7 minutes. Stir the mixture and roast until tender and slightly browned, approximately 5 minutes longer.
• Stir in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
• Serve immediately or at room temperature.

FRITTATA WITH ASPARAGUS AND SCALLIONS

Steps:

• Snap off the tough bottom stubs of the asparagus, peel the bottom few inches of each spear, and cut them crosswise in 1 1/2-inch pieces. Slice prosciutto or bacon into strips, or lardoons, about 1 inch long and 1/3 inch wide. Trim the scallions, and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
• Pour the olive oil into the skillet, scatter in the lardoons, and set over medium heat. When the strips are sizzling and rendering fat, toss in the cut asparagus, and roll and toss them over a few times. Cover the skillet, and cook, still over moderate heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the asparagus is slightly softened, 5 minutes or so.
• Scatter the scallion pieces in the pan, season with a couple pinches of salt, and toss the vegetables and lardoons together. Cover the skillet, and cook, shaking the pan and stirring occasionally, until the scallions and asparagus are soft and moist, 7 or 8 minutes more. Meanwhile, beat the eggs thoroughly with the remaining salt and generous grinds of black pepper.
• When the vegetables are steaming in their moisture, uncover the skillet, raise the heat, and cook, tossing, for a minute or so, until the water has evaporated and the asparagus and scallions seem about to color.
• Quickly spread them out in the pan, and pour the eggs over at once. Immediately begin folding the eggs over with the spatula, clearing the sides and skillet bottom continuously, so the eggs flow and coagulate around the vegetables and lardoons.
• When all the eggs are cooked in big soft curds-in barely a minute-take the skillet off the heat. Tumble the frittata over a few more times to keep it loose and moist. Spoon portions onto warm plates, and serve hot and steaming.

ASPARAGUS, LEEK, AND GRUYERE QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. Add leek and asparagus; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Place pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with cheese; top with asparagus mixture. Pour egg mixture on top.
• Bake until center of quiche is just set, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

SCALLION AND CELERY QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and add scallions and celery. Cook, stirring, until celery is just tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic and thyme, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Beat together egg yolks and eggs in a medium bowl. Set tart pan on a baking sheet to allow for easy handling. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush bottom of the crust with some of the beaten egg and place in oven for 5 minutes.
• Add salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, and milk to remaining eggs and whisk together.
• Spread scallion and celery mixture in an even layer in the crust. Stir together cheeses and sprinkle evenly on top. Very slowly pour the egg custard over the filling. If your tart pan has low edges, you may not need all of it to fill the shell, and you want to avoid the custard spilling over. Place quiche, on baking sheet, in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and just beginning to color on the top. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

ASPARAGUS QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place asparagus in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Brush pie shells with beaten egg white. Sprinkle crumbled bacon and chopped asparagus into pie shells.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Sprinkle Swiss cheese over bacon and asparagus. Pour egg mixture on top of cheese.
• Bake uncovered in preheated oven until firm, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

HOW TO COOK ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Asparagus is best and freshest in spring from a local source. Generally, the West Coast season runs from February to May; East Coast asparagus appears in May and June. Asparagus from Peru is available year-round, of course, but it is not as good.At the market, look for spears that are brightly colored and have compact, tightly closed tips. Spears that are ridged or look dry have lost their flavor. Check the root ends to see how dried out they are; if they are truly brown, reach for a different bundle.For stovetop cooking, a stainless steel or enamel-coated cast-iron pot is best. If you're stir-frying, you'll need a wok or a deep-sided cast iron skillet. For roasting, use a baking sheet or a small roasting pan.Asparagus cooks quickly, so make sure to have all your ingredients ready by the stove. It's best served warm or room temperature; ice-cold asparagus is unpleasant.
• Asparagus comes in different shades and sizes, and each has its strengths. Here are some tips on how best to choose, clean and store it. There are three colors of asparagus: green, purple and white. Green asparagus is by far the most common and is available year-round in American supermarkets. You'll find thin, medium and fat green spears in almost any market. Whatever its thickness, green asparagus should be cooked al dente. White asparagus is more common in Europe. It is white because the plants are covered in mulch to prevent them from developing chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color. White asparagus must be completely peeled from tip to tail, and, unlike green, should be well-cooked. It is a mistake to cook green and white asparagus together. Purple asparagus has a beautiful violet skin that turns dark green when cooked. Its taste is similar to that of green asparagus. Asparagus usually comes in three sizes: Pencil-thin, medium and jumbo. The thickness of the asparagus does not indicate its maturity; a thin asparagus spear does not grow into a fat one. What you'll choose is based on personal preference and what you're cooking. Some describe thin spears as grassy or thicker ones as meaty.Thin asparagus is great for stir fries and sautéing. Fat asparagus is good for roasting or grilling, and best when you want to serve whole spears, even simply steamed. Medium spears work in almost any cooking method. Store your asparagus in your crisper drawer, wrapped in a damp paper towel and then in a plastic bag, no longer than three days. Do not clean it first. Or you can store asparagus upright in a container with an inch of water. Place it in the fridge, uncovered.
• Before you begin cooking, take a minute to snap or cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus. If you have nice fat spears, peel their tough skin away too. We'll show you how. Snapping off woody asparagus bottoms gives you spears of slightly different lengths, but guarantees no tough ends when you sit down to eat. To snap, hold a spear with both hands and find the natural bending point near the bottom of the stalk. Then snap. Make sure your hands really are near the bottom, or you risk discarding too much; a stalk will snap in the middle if you're not careful. The spear should break at a point where the asparagus has started to lose its moisture.Cutting your spears is fine as long as you take care to avoid the woody ends. (But please, don't use the discarded ends to make anything but compost.)The skin on larger asparagus spears doesn't soften with cooking, which is why it's best to peel the lower stalks of medium or fat spears, both green and purple. Always peel white asparagus.To peel, place the spear flat on your work surface. Using a vegetable peeler, preferably one with a swivel blade, peel the asparagus from about halfway up the spear toward the root end. Never peel the tips. Use a light hand, or you'll peel off too much of the sweet core. Asparagus can be peeled a few hours ahead of time, wrapped and refrigerated.
• Roasting asparagus allows for a slight caramelizing of the vegetable's skin, and it's just luscious. It's also a fast way to get delicious asparagus on the table without standing at the stove.Here's a very simple method for roasting that just requires olive oil, salt and pepper, but you can add other spices as well: cayenne, red pepper flakes or smoked salt. Or try chopped walnuts, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.Heat your oven to 425 degrees, and dress asparagus spears lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan in one layer and roast until lightly browned and sizzling, and just firm-tender. If you are roasting on a baking sheet, that should take 10 to 12 minutes, or about 15 minutes in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan. The trick here is getting the spears nicely colored without overcooking them, and you should always err on the undercooked side - asparagus will continue to cook off the heat.
• Simply steamed or simmered asparagus is delicious, and you can dress the spears however you like: in a bagna cauda, or a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil, or nothing at all. These are very easy cooking methods, and any size spear will work, although medium is best. We'll also tell you how to blanch asparagus, a useful method when incorporating the vegetable into other dishes. It's easy to cook asparagus in a steamer. Bring one inch of well-salted water to boil in a pot with a steamer insert, and place the spears in the steamer in a single layer. (If necessary, work in batches; do not pile in the asparagus or try to cook too many at a time.) Cover the pot and cook for about 3 minutes, depending upon size of spears. Err on the undercooked side - asparagus will continue to cook off the heat. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and blot the excess water away with a towel.Simmering asparagus is another easy way to cook asparagus quickly, and a good option if you don't own a steamer. In a wide pot, boil a few inches of generously salted water and add your asparagus. Cook at a rapid simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of your asparagus. Again, don't cook too many at one time; a dozen in the pot at once is plenty. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and blot to remove any remaining water. Old recipes sometimes call for using twine to tie asparagus into bundles, to make it easier to retrieve them from the water. If you do, blot the cooked bundle, transfer to a platter and snip the twine with kitchen shears. Some recipes, such as spring pasta dishes, call for blanching asparagus. It's easy to do. In a wide pot, boil a few inches of generously salted water and add your asparagus, either whole stalks or cut into pieces. Cook at a rapid simmer for 1 minutes. Then immediately plunge the spears into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking and to keep them green. Remove from ice water and blot, otherwise risk waterlogged asparagus.
• Tender, sweet asparagus can be delicious raw and dressed simply with olive oil, lemon and salt. And you don't even need to turn on your stove.Fat asparagus works best in raw preparations, like this fast recipe for a delicious asparagus salad.Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, slice 6 to 8 fat asparagus spears very thinly on the diagonal. (Alternatively, you can cut them on a mandoline, or use a peeler to slice them lengthwise into long, thin ribbons.) Pile them into a bowl and dress with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Toss and serve.
• Asparagus is great quickly stir-fried or sautéed over high heat. You could sauté spears in butter or olive oil with delicious results, but throwing some chopped herbs or sliced chiles into the pan adds wonderful flavor. Both of these methods produce juicy asparagus that retains its crunch.Thin spears are best for sautéeing or stir-frying. For Asian recipes, use a wok if you have one; otherwise, a cast-iron skillet or large sauté pan will work fine. Here's a simple method for spicy wok-fried asparagus (you can leave out the spicy elements if you wish): Cut 6 to 8 cleaned and trimmed medium asparagus spears into 2-inch lengths. In a wok or cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until nearly smoking. Add the asparagus to the wok or skillet, season generously with salt and pepper and cook about 2 minutes until it is bright green, stirring constantly and making sure that the asparagus is coated completely with oil. Then, add 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon grated ginger and one finely chopped serrano or other hot chile pepper. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a serving platter and scatter on top a handful of chopped fresh basil, mint or cilantro leaves (or all three.) And here's how to sauté asparagus: Heat a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cut 6 to 8 cleaned and trimmed medium asparagus spears into 2-inch lengths. Add olive oil or butter to pan; when hot, add asparagus, season generously with salt and pepper and cook about 3 to 4 minutes, until bright green, shaking or stirring the pan frequently. The key is to cook the asparagus just enough so that the exterior browns a bit, but the interior remains crunchy. Finish it with anything you like: a squeeze of lemon, a favorite sweet vinegar, a fistful of chopped herbs.
• Frying asparagus is easier than it sounds, and results in crispy, tender spears that you won't want to stop eating. Don't forget a good dipping sauce.You'll need a deep heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven, to make tempura, and a thermometer to test the temperature of your oil. Medium spears work best. Here's an easy method:In your heavy-bottomed pot on the stovetop, heat three inches or so of vegetable oil until it reaches 360 degrees. While it heats, in a bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 tablespoons corn starch and ½ teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups ice water and 2 eggs, lightly beaten, and then add that to the flour mixture. Mix it briefly with a fork or chopsticks, but do not overbeat; lumps are fine. Dip your cleaned, snapped asparagus spears in the batter and drop them gently in the hot oil. Fry for about two minutes, until the spears are just lightly browned. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain on absorbent paper.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND SCALLION SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of heavily salted water to a boil, stir in freekeh or farro, cover, and simmer until al dente, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, and pinch salt and pepper. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons oil, whisking constantly.
• Drain freekeh and stir immediately into dressing while still warm.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread asparagus and scallions over a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle liberally with oil, 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then arrange in a single layer. Roast until they start to char in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly: The asparagus are best while still a little warm but not hot enough to wilt the greens.
• Toss salad greens in the bowl with freekeh and dressing until leaves are coated, and transfer to serving platter. Top with roasted asparagus and scallions, shave cheese over salad if you like, and serve.