Asparagus Stock / Pasta with Asparagus Stock

June 2019: Asparagus "Stock" Revisited

Asparagus Stock/Pasta with Asparagus Stock has never been one of my favorite recipes, rather thrifty use of a spring gift come winter.  This spring there is still a lingering quart in our freezer.  Then as I was making still another batch of stock, I realized why. A friend of mine professed not to like asparagus, then I discovered her mother had cooked it until it was almost gray!  That's exactly what I was doing with this recipe, no wonder it was not my favorite (sorry edible Aspen).  How to cook shorter but get tender?  I shredded the stalks with a steel blade in my food processor, put the mixture in a small pan just barely covered with water and cooked, like I cook whole asparagus (small stalks) for three minutes.  The result was a bright green mixture that looked and smelled great.  To get it finer I used the immersion blender and for some reason this was a messy and additional process. Next time I chopped much finer in the food processor and then microwaved. Voila:

Put in food processor

12 oz*

Blend until quite fine, then add

3 T water

Blend again until mixture is pureed.

Put mixture in a glass bowl and heat, stirring frequently to just boiling about 3 minutes on high,

* I don't like to keep asparagus ends in the refrigerator for more that 5 days, and amount varies each time. adding about a tablespoon of water per 4 oz of asparagus makes for a good puree.  Stay tuned for recipes using this or try your own adaption (more water and some additional cooking may be required) of the pasta recipe below.

Long before the current trend to use the whole animal or the whole plant, I saved the tough ends of my local asparagus stems.  Local asparagus is so spectacular I could not bear to assign the less tender portions to the compost pile.  I made stock from these stems and turned the resultant stock into soup.  The soup cried for cream and since this was a weekday staple, I did not answer the call.  Pasta cooked in asparagus stock is a great dinner on its own, no cry for cream and could only be improved by perhaps a bit of chopped parsley or grated Parmesean.

After several years of this practice, I find I have company.  Headline from a May 22, 2015 article in the Wall Street Journal:

Vegetable Scraps Go Haute: How to Cook Root to Stalk

Save those stems! Across the country, chefs are getting very good eating from parts of our produce we typically trim away. Here are their tips for using every part of the vegetable, plus recipes mindful of making the most of your market haul*

And an article in the Spring 2015 issue of edible Aspen, "The Skinny on Asparagus", included a recipe for asparagus stock and directions on how to cook pasta in stock.  

With the asparagus season fast approaching some asparagus stock still left in my freezer, I remembered the pasta recipe.  I used whole wheat linguini fini with excellent results.  The whole wheat pasta makes a heartier, less delicate but healthier offering than white pasta.   

ASPARAGUS STOCK

The edible Aspen asparagus stock recipe is pretty close to the one I have been using for several years, except it finishes the stock using a food processor and then a food mill.  I find the food processor or even easier an immersion blender sufficent.  I collect the asparagus trimmings over the course of a few meals. Often I cook for only two but we eat a lot of asparagus so it does not take long to fill the quart container I keep in the refrigerator during asparagus season.

Place the asparagus stem pieces (I do a quart of 1 -2 inch stems at a time) in a medium pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover and gently boil until the asparagus is very soft, about 45 minutes.  Add more water if necessary to keep stems covered.  Let cool and then puree with a food processor or immersion blender.

I freeze and save for use after asparagus is no longer in season.

PASTA COOKED IN ASPARAGUS STOCK

"Cooking pasta in stock is a fabulous alternative to using your stock for soup. The pasta absorbs the flavors from the stock and leaches out starch, which thickens the sauce to create a savory sauce.."**

Serves 3

Heat until boiling: 

1 quart asparagus stock 

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add

8 ounces pasta, linguini fini or spaghettini works best

The pasta will be stiff and probably not all fit in the stock initially. Gently push down on the pasta until it softens and collapses into the stock.  Stir constantly to avoid strands from sticking together. Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Time on box/bag will not be accurate as pasta is being cooked in a significantly reduced amount of liquid and not water.  You will have to taste for doneness. During cooking, stock will thicken. Add a little water if sauce gets too sticky.  Divide into bowls and serve immediately.

This combination stands well on its own but could be garnished with 

finely chopped parsley 

and/or

grated Parmesean

* I don't subscribe to the WSJ so only saw the headline, not recipes.

**  edible Aspen, No. 30 Spring 2015, page15.

May 2017: It's asparagus season again, and I still have stock left in the freezer. Why not pasta cooked in asparagus stock garnished with fresh asparagus. Yum!









Reviewed 5/30/2017
Revised : 6/6/2019  - note at top of post