Pickled asparagus is the easiest way to enjoy these vegetables for as long as possible, even when they are no longer found in supermarket counters
How many are the vegetables that we love and we would never want to do without, even when their season is over and it is no longer possible to find them if not frozen? There is a way to extend the life of some of your favorite foods a little, and to add them in brine. It also works with asparagus!
The brine, an ancient method for preserving
Using salt to store food is a method that goes back toancient Rome, where the meats and fish were put under layers of salt in order to be kept for a long time. Fruits and vegetables were instead immersed in solutions of water and salt, the brine precisely, because they kept for days. Methods that have come down to us and that are used both for industrial preserves and for home preserves. The basic recipe for brine plans to use 100 g of salt for each kg of vegetables. Then add herbs to the water and salt aromatic, various seeds, chili pepper, garlic cloves or citrus peel, to personalize your preserves.
There is not just one asparagus …
They exist more than 200 varieties, different in shape, color and taste: the best known are the green ones white Bassano, asparagus wild (thinner) and violet, which are actually white asparagus whose tips have unearthed and turned purple. Rich in mineral salts, they have purifying properties and they are also suitable for those who have to lose weight because low in calories. You can use the ones you prefer for this preparation.
How to make pickled asparagus
Ingredients
2 kg asparagus, 1 lemon, 4 bay leaves, 200 g salt.
Method
With a potato peeler, make the lemon zest and then squeeze it. Take the asparagus, remove the most leathery part of the stem and wash them. Then leave them to soak in a bowl with water and lemon juice for 15 minutes. Then drain the asparagus, dry them and tie them with string in small bunches that you will put in a high pot with water that reaches up to 2 cm from the tip. Boil them for 5 minutes and then turn off. Drain them again and throw them in a bowl with water and ice. After 5 minutes, remove them, dry them and set them aside. Now prepare the brine: in a saucepan put two liters of water and 200 g of salt. Bring to a boil and then turn off. Now take the asparagus and place them in the jars you have previously sterilized. Place them on their feet, close to each other and add the bay leaves and lemon zest. Pour the brine into each jar to the brim. Close them and then place them inside a pot full of water. Boil them for 1 hour then let them cool inside the pot. Dry them and put them in the pantry, your pickled asparagus are ready! To consume them, wait 2 weeks.
In the tutorial some more tips for making pickled asparagus
