The asparagus they are a refined vegetable, perfect for flavoring many preparations, and with multiple properties, above all cleansing. There are many on the market variety, different in shape, color and taste: the best known asparagus are the green ones white Bassano, wild (thinner) and violet, which are actually white asparagus whose tips have unearthed and turned purple. The recipes for cooking them are many! For example, try the ragout of asparagus that we offer below, tasty and perfect for a light but full of taste lunch.

How to choose asparagus

Whether they are wild or cultivated, the way to choose good asparagus is to control it the ends: the tips must be of an intense color, to hold, with the leaves well closed and the tip straight. THE stems instead they must be firm, without stains and the stem must be straight, not crushed. In addition to this, it must break cleanly, and don't bend: in this case he would have lost water and therefore it would not be cooler.

How to store asparagus

To always have them fresh, as if they were just purchased, it is essential to keep them in the freezer. But how? First you need to clean them and cut off the hardest part of the stem. After that dip them in boiling water, whole or in pieces, as you prefer, for 3-4 minutes. drain, put them in a bowl with ice water and when they are cold, dry them one by one with a paper towel. Then distribute them in the special bags well closed e put them in the freezer. This way you will have them fresh whenever you feel like it. To cook them, you just have to add them still frozen and cook them together with the other ingredients.

The recipe for the asparagus ragout

Ingredients

500 g green asparagus, 2 celery stalks, 1 carrot, 1 small onion, 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, 10 g dried mushrooms, 2 bay leaves, 2 clove, grated zest of one lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt.

Method

Soak the mushrooms in a bowl with cold water. Clean the asparagus, removing the final part of the stems, the more leathery one. Steam them for 3 minutes and once ready, cut the stem into rings and set aside the tips. Coarsely chop the onion, carrot and celery and cook them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, bay leaf and cloves. Then add the tomato paste lengthened with water and the drained and coarsely chopped mushrooms. Cook everything for about ten minutes, then remove the bay leaf and cloves, add the asparagus and lemon zest. Salt and cook for another 5 minutes. At the end add the asparagus tips and mix well. Your ragù is ready.

In the tutorial some other recipes for cooking asparagus