Hey, Amanda! I'm happy to see you again, welcome back!

Frozen asparagus? I freeze spears and then thaw them, spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper, then roast them until nicely browned. Roll them over a time or two if you like.

Frankly, that's the only way I eat frozen asparagus, other than soup, but it actually roasts relatively well and becomes very acceptable. Not like fresh, of course, but still OK.

Annie

I'm trying a freezing technique that a friend told me about.

Cut the asparagus into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Blanch tip sections for about 30 seconds and plunge into cold water. Blanch stalks for 1 minute and do same. Spread cooled pieces in pan with paper towels under and on top. Place in fridge about 1 hr until pieces are dry. Remove paper towel and place pan in freezer. When pieces are frozen, place in freezer bags and put in freezer. My friend packages tips and stalks separately, but I've been mixing them.

I haven't tried them yet, but the technique seems to make sense and I plan to saute the frozen pieces in butter or oil, with or without garlic.

I need a new method. I'll have to try that. I like it so much fresh, barely cooked, even raw.
Same with just about any variety of string bean. I grow so many that i need to freeze some and often avoid them when i come across the packages in the freezer.
I'll use frozen sliced asparagus in any egg dish...omelette, frittata, etc. veggie lasagna with a mushroom layer works. Always good flavor.
My frozen beans always taste dead with odd texture. Not even good in soups.
I'll try to take better blanching care this summer.

Do you blanch your beans before freezing then get them good and dry? And vacuum seal them? I've always thought green beans (my favorite) froze pretty well. They don't come out crisp, but I'll eat 'em anyway. And they are still great cut up into salads, soups and stews. I'd think they'd be fine in the egg dishes you use your frozen asparagus in. Do you like them pickled? Or in vinegar salad? Maybe canning would be a better way to preserve them if so?

I use cooked asparagus to make quesadillas (or my version of them), and so I am sure that frozen ones would work well also. Here is my method for one quesadilla:

One large flour tortilla (to fit the pan you have)
Sliced turkey or ham
Cooked (or defrosted asparagus)
Grated or sliced Swiss, Jarlsberg, or soft melting cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large cast iron skillet and a small amount of olive oil to prevent the tortilla from sticking.

Place sliced turkey or ham on the tortilla, followed by asparagus (I often use mushrooms instead), sprinkle with black pepper, and then add grated cheese. Put the tortilla in the pan on medium heat, covered, for five minutes.

I know you already know how to make quesadillas, but I thought I would write it out anyway, in case someone else is interested. These make really good appetizers for a party.

I make these a lot, as they are a quick and easy snack and are one of my favorite ways to use leftover asparagus.

You can also make deep fried quesadillas using fresh masa instead of a tortilla, but I particularly like the flour tortillas for this, especially because they are nice when crisp.

UL

This post was edited by publickman on Tue, May 13, 14 at 22:49

Hi Annie! Nice to see you. Lacey - Interesting. I'll try it.

Sleeven - Why didn't I think of that? What a wonderful idea! Thank you. *And* I have chickens, so we eat tons of quiche around here. I may even get DH and my 6-yr-old to eat asparagus by doing that.

UL - thanks for the idea. XOXO

I really hadn't thought of freezing asparagus, what a great idea!

Having watched a 'How To Cook Asparagus' video I recently tried peeling the stems which made a big difference - they didn't have the stringy/chewy texture they can sometimes have.

Oh, I've also upgraded from a butter and salt pan shakes to hollandaise..yummy!

Here is a link that might be useful: How To Cook Asparagus

Amanda, welcome back to the Cooking Forum. And you have chickens and the big guy is already 6? Wow, it just doesn't seem like that long, and you must be living somewhere in the country that lets you have chickens!

Sleevendog, I always can green beans, as I don't care for the texture of frozen green beans, even blanched. I always freeze peas as I don't care for the texture of the canned ones, some things I like frozen and some I like better canned. (shrug) Corn I like raw, right off the cob, I haven't figured out how to do that frozen OR canned.

Here I just read the sad news that the entire first picking of asparagus was ruined by a hard freeze. It all got mowed down and now we wait for the second picking, I guess.

Annie

Annie - Sorry for the delay in responding. Not in the habit of coming here. We live in the middle of town, in a suburb of Austin, but chickens are pretty popular and allowed in most neighborhoods in the metro area. We really like it.

If my big guy is already 6, your grandbabies must be... nearly in high school?

Boo on losing the loss of the first asparagus picking! I'm going to pick some up mid-week this week.
We are expecting our next boy (2nd and probably last - I am not in my 20s anymore) in late October.

So you're back in Texas. Last I heard from you, you were in school, that was a while ago. (grin)

Yes, I do like having my "ladies", I have a dozen egg layers and 15 that are rapidly growing for the freezer.

The only down side is that if you want to do anything overnight, you have to have someone to feed the chickens and gather the eggs.

Makayla is 10 and Bud is 8 and now Ashley is married and has Madi who is two-and-a-half and Maci who will be a year old in August. Yes, The Monkey Princess is going into 6th grade. (sigh)

Congratulations on the new baby!! My girls were also 6 years apart, Amanda started kindergarten the year Ashley was born, so at least there were not two in diapers, that's a good thing. Enjoy them both.

Annie