Marinated Asparagus

Marinated Asparagus recipe

1 pound asparagus

1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon vinegar - sherry or red wine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

Wash and prep the asparagus by breaking off the woody ends of the stalks. (Annnnnnd discarding the woody ends. Almost forgot that part.) Drain and pat dry. 

Prepare the diced red onion by putting it in the vinegar and lemon juice to begin breaking down.

Steam the asparagus in a steamer or a steaming basket over boiling water for 4 to 7 minutes. Do Not Over Cook. You want the spears to be crisp-tender, not flabby.

Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients: Red onion, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper, and drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify the dressing/marinade.

When the asparagus is steamed, put it in a dish that allows it to lay flat -- rectangular, oval, whatever you like. Pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus, and toss gently to coat all the spears from end to end and back again.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Take it out and toss it every once in a while so every spear is thoroughly marinated in yummy vinaigrette. Serve the asparagus as it is -- cool -- or return it to room temperature.

This is the asparagus you want to treat like finger food. 

I first had marinated asparagus -- or vinaigrette dressed asparagus -- at Disney World in 1996, and I spent months trying to find a recipe to replicate it. I finally found something to work with in 1998, and I held it close to my heart for years before starting to share it with friends. I mean, other than sharing it with friends by making it and serving it to them. 

I didn't have a proper steamer until 2002, when my father-in-law gave me an Oster steamer for Christmas. The next Thanksgiving, I made this marinated asparagus for him, and he loved it. Loved it! So did his wife (my husband's step-mother), and my sister-in-law, and my nephew, and everyone except my actual mother-in-law, who had forbidden me to bring my famous green beans with horseradish sauce because she was tired of my vegetable dishes stealing the thunder from the turkey. While my in-laws raved, I just thanked my father-in-law for the gift of the steamer, and said I never could have done it without him.

I usually double or triple this recipe, because I usually take it to pot lucks and buffets, holiday gatherings and parties. I took it to an NPR Volunteer Potluck three years in a row, and I have never seen a dish get so clean on a buffet line before. This is one of those recipes that, if you share it, people will start demanding that you bring it.

And it's a good thing that we have a global economy now, and that asparagus is readily available all year long, because if we had to wait until May to have it, we would all be seriously bummed out.

Please let me know where you share this dish, and how much it is beloved when you do. This one can change your life, make you popular, and ruin your mother-in-law's Thanksgiving.  I mean, if that's what you want to do. No judgment here. I'll share the green beans later -- closer to Thanksgiving, probably.