ASPARAGUS, A distinguished and royal member of the lily family, is grown in so many places today that it is hard to decide just where it began. We know it was commonly en- joyed in ancient Egypt, Greece -and Rome. The Greeks loved wild asparagus and the Romans began to cultivate it around 100 B.C. Apicius, the first-century Roman gourmet, loved asparagus and claims that it was enjoyed in Rome as early as 400 B.C. We assume, from his and other writ- ings, that asparagus remained a food of the wealthy until the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. Julius Caesar, for in- stance, loved the stuff. Following the fal! of Rome the vegetable disappeared from _ Europe. In Thina, however, men- tion was made of asparagus as early as the seventh century, cnd the food was finally reintroduced tay. Europe during the [6th cen- the following, Chinese, Greek and Roman recipes: celebrate the flavor of this vegetable. ‘- HYNT ON CLEANING AS- PARAGUS: The. old European method of pesling the stems in order to make them tender takes too much time for me. Besides, nothing. is- wasted if we save the broken ends for soup. Hold the bottom end of the stem in one hand and gently bend ae the stalk with the other. The stalk »: will break where it is tender, thus giving you a‘piece of asparagus that is entirely edible. With a little practice’ you will know exactly where to try to break the vegetable. . Save the broken-off ends for soup. Slice and add to the soup stock, then drain well and discard ‘the coarse stalks before serving. COLD ASPARAGUS, CHINESE : STYLE This is a lovely dish for a first course or a real hit when served ‘later in the meai. Clean the asparagus (see above) and leave it whole. Bring a pan of water to. a boil and add a table- spoon or.so of peanut oil to help keep the color. _ Blanch the vegetable for about four or five minutes, then plunge ~ it into cold water. Drain and chill. ’ When ready to serve you may dress the asparagus with a sesame oil-based dressing. ASPARAGUS WITH BEEF AND . BLACK BEANS Serves 4-5 as part of a Chinese meal People are always. asking about my favorite recipe. I have too many! This one, however, is sure- Kitchen Inquisitive Cook SUE WILSON ANNE GARDINER Jeff THE FRUGAL GOURMET ly my favorite asparagus recipe. 1% pounds asparagus, cleaned % pound beef flank steak, sliced thin across the grain 3 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons dry sherry or Chinese rice wine 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3 tablespoons peanut oil 2 cloves garlic, sliced. thin 1 tablespoon fermented black beans (‘“dow sce"’), rinsed Pinch of salt Pinch of sugar - %- cup fresh or canned chicken soup stock Slice the cleaned asparagus di- agonally into -inch pieces. Set aside. In a small bowl marinate the sliced beef in two tablespoons of the light soy sauce, ginger, sherry or rice wine and the cornstarch. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes. Heat a wok or large frying pan and add the oil. The oil should just begin to smoke. Quickly lay the meat on one side in the pan. Do not turn, but cook over high heat for a moment until the one side begins to brown. Toss-stir the meat. for a mo- ment and remove from the pan, allowing the oil to drain back into the pan. - Heat the pan again and add the garlic. Chow for just a moment and add the rinsed fermented black beans. Chow for another moment and add the asparagus. Toss for a few seconds, then add the remaining soy sauce, salt. and sugar. Chow just until tender, about five minutes. Add the meat and chicken broth. Stir to make a sauce. Serve immediately. ASPARAGUS WITH OIL AND TOMATO, GREEK STYLE (Serves 4 as a vegetable course) Y cup olive oil 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped Y% cup chopped Italian parsley 1 cup chopped very ripe tomatoes Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 pound asparagus, cleaned \% cup dry white wine > Heat a three-quart heavy stainless-steel or porcelain-lined stove-top casserole and add the olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion until clear. : Add the parsley and tomatoes and simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are very soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut the cleaned asparagus into one-inch pieces and add to the pot along with the white wine. Cook until done to your taste, which I hope will be a short time, just until tender and still a “bit crunchy. PICKLED ASPARAGUS, GREEK STYLE (Makes about 5 quarts) This is a good exaraple of the taste of the Greek islands. This ‘recipe makes quite a bit, so you should plan to prepare it when asparagus is cheap and you have some nice neighbors with whom you would like to share this. delicious salad. 2 tablespoons salt 3 cups olive oil . 2 carrots, peeled and sliced Y% pourd small pearl onions, peeled Y pound radishes, cleaned and cut in half 5 pourds asparagus, cleaned and cut into 2-inch pieces 1 cup drained Ciamata olives 8 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices 5 cups white wine vinegar (2p- proximately) Bring three quarts of water toa boil in a large stainless-steel or porcelain-lined kettle. Add the salt, three tablespoons of the olive oil, the carrot slices and onions. Blanch for about two minutes and add the radishes and asparagus. Bring to a simmer and drain the liquid. Refresh the vegetables in cold water and drain again. Mix ’ the olives with the vegetables. Put the vegetable mixture in five one-quart glass canning jars and divide the remaining ingre- The royal asparagus _— re 5 NEWS photo Mike Weketield ASPARAGUS REMAINED a food of the wealthy until the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. dients among the jars, starting with the remaining olive oii and ending with the vinegar. Cap the jars and shake the a bit to mix all. Store in the refrigerator for two days before serving, turning the Jars upside down now and then to mix all. This will keep in the refrigerator for about six days, but it is best served on the second cr third day. ASPARAGUS CUSTARD APICIUS . (Serves 3-4 as a side dish at din- ner) It is exciting to realize that the Romans ate so well, at least some of them. This dish goes back 2,000 years and needs little im- provement, though you may find -the flavoring from the fresh herbs a bit strange. Change them to suit your palate. Yr pound asparagus, cleaned, blanched and coarsely chopped Y%, cup chopped lovage or chopped celery leaves Y% cup’ medium-chopped fresh : coriander : : 1 teaspoon savory ~ Soe % medium. yellow onion, ‘pected wy and chopped mediuni’ - . | Biack pepper to taste : ¥s cup white wine Ve cup ‘Fresk or canned: chicken stuck — 2 tablespoons olive oil 6 eggs, beaten - _ Chop the blanched asparagus, - along with the fresh herbs and the onion. Mix this with the pepper, wine, chicken broth and. one: ta- blespoon of the olive oil: . . Heat a large frying pan or-wok and add the remaining oi! and the asparagus and herb mixture. - - Cook for a minute over high heat and then add the beaten eggs. Lower the heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, un- til the mixture begins to set up. © Do not overcook. This should be very much like moist scrambled eggs. resolutions for the coming year IT’S TIME to ring in the new year — and draft some resolutions for °92. We don’t often extend resolu- tions to the kitchen, but why not take on some culi- nary challenges along with the traditional promises? As resolutions often involve spending less money, take a close look at the prepared foods you buy. Choose at least one and make your own instead. Here are some ideas. Soup? Try homemade using vegetable puree or the starch from legumes as a thickener. Serve it first as an entree, then freeze the rest for lunches. Salad dressings are quick to mix. Making your own saves on packaging and gives you an op- portunity to work with emulsions. Muffins are simple.- Just remember to stir the batter with as few strokes as possible because the high preportion of liquid in muf- fin recipes makes it easy to overdevelop the gluten in flour. The more you stir, the tougher they’ll be. If you make a double batch, the extras freeze well. Cookies can be a wholesome alternative to commercial snack food. Try reducing the sugar in cookie recipes by 25%, but expect differences not only in sweetness but also in texture, Less sugar means they’ll be slightly less tender. You can partly compen- sate for this by creaming the shortening and sugar together well. A thorough beating incor- porates air which expands on heating, keeping the texture light. Use wheat germ, oatmeal, whole grains, dried fresh fruit and nuts for extra nutrients. Have you got a recipe file? Cull out the recipes you never use. Remember, not every recipe is a good one so if it doesn’t work, it may be the recipe’s fault, not yours. Try a new recipe once u week, once 2 month, or whatever is real- istic for you. Expand your skills and master a new technique. Mer- ingue, souffle, yeastbread, pastry. Offset the time spent in making your own with the challenge of trying something new. The bonus is being able to enjoy the tasty results. - Expand your repertoire of non-meat meals — beans, fish, pasta, soups, stir-fry. Sometimes it’s just a matter of breaking old habits — and the alternatives are a refreshing change. Along with the challenges of cooking comes the pledge to make your kitchen more environmental- ly friendly. Recycle bottles and cans. Buy in bulk to save on elaborate packaging. There’s likely some streamlining we could each do. And by exercising our prefer- ences as consumers, we influence retailers, wholesalers and manu- facturers. Happy Cooking in ’92!