Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

Growing up, there were two foods I hated: liver and asparagus.

As an adult, I learned that the reason I hated those foods: my mom cooked the bejeezus out of them, turning the former into chew-toys and the latter into grey-green cylinders that were half vegetal mush and half indigestible cellulose. While liver never made it into my Top Ten, asparagus has become one of my favorite foods.

I roast my asparagus. I sauté it. I blanch it for salads and drop bias-cut slivers into soups. I add it to omelettes, quiches, crepes, pasta. I like it thick as a finger or thin as a cocktail straw. And now, I have a new way to enjoy it: pickled.

Don’t fear; this isn’t canning, with its attendant protocols and fears of botulism. No, this is easy. This is my kind of pickling: refrigerator pickling. It won’t keep on shelf through the nuclear winter, but it will last in the fridge for a month, no sweat.

The result is a spear that is tangy, savory, possibly with a bit of heat (your choice), but that’s still firm with a hint of crispness.

Great for snacks, salads, and the perfect accompaniment to charcuterie.

(more…)

Read Full Post »