Blanch it to tender, drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Slice on the diagonal.

Boil 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Pour vinegar into large bowl. Whisk in 3 T oil, 1 T mustard, 1T fresh marjoram (or 1 tsp dried) and 1 t minced garlic. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Add asparagus and 1 small diced red pepper to dressing and toss to blend well. Sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans or walnuts and serve.

I would hope you have 10 spears....then steam them crisp tender and put 2 spears on top of that wild rice salad....if you don't have 10 spears, cut them into 2 inch pieces and put them on the salad.
Linda c

It's not quite enough for a stand alone dish -- or to make a soup or veloute (insert accent). Maybe roast or grill half-cooked spears quickly (or without the water step if they are very thin spears) and use them to top the salad? A few drops of good oil at the end and a dash of sea salt? Maybe a squeeze of fresh lime juice if you're having ribs -- don't do pork ribs myself but I'd think a little bit of citrus might help cut the fat and sauce, and might also help the asparagus stand out a bit.

Roast them with some other vegetables, like zuchinni, red or yellow pepper or summer squash, whatever you like. Roast with olive oil, italian seasonings, some garlic, balsamic vinegar. Cool to room temp. cut into bite sized pieces, toss in some feta and splash with more EVOO, italian seasoning and balsamic to freshen. Great salad. Serve over lettuce leaf. Can add chopped sundried tomatoes, rehydrated. Add pasta to stretch even further. I eat this a LOT!

Thanks for all the good ideas. Based on what I had on hand I made L2C46's recipe. It was really tasty! Only thing I would do differently next time (and there WILL be a next time!) is use white balsamic. Regular balsamic is dark and the fresh green color of the asparagus was kinda lost in the dressing.

I've saved your recipe, too Lpink! That looks like a really versatile dish!

Thanks again! Linda

Too late now, and probably not what you would have wanted for yesterday, but for the future, this is a good way to make use of 3/4 of a pound of asparagus.

Easy recipe and the ravioli can be prepared earlier in the day and then cooked at the last minute.

Makes a wonderful first course.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Asparagus Ravioli
=================
3/4 lb. asparagus
1/4 cup butter
1 green onion
1 clove garlic
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried basil
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
10 egg roll wrappers or won ton wrappers
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
. Cut asparagus stalks into 2 inch lengths; reserve tips for garnish. In
large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium high heat; add
asparagus stalks, garlic and green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
to taste; toss to coat. Stir in half of the basil and 2 Tbsp of the
water; cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender.
Puree in food processor or blender. Let cool; cover and refrigerate for
at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Stir together flour and remaining 2 tbsp water to make paste. If using
Egg roll Wrappers cut into 4 squares each or use either round or square
won ton wrappers. Mound teaspoon of asparagus puree on wrapper and
Brush flour paste around mounds edges. Position second wrapper on top
so that edges are even; press down around mounds to force out air and
seal well all around mounds. Using sharp cookie cutter or knife, cut
around each ravioli to make a nice edge. Transfer to towel. Repeat with
remaining wrappers and filling, covering ravioli with towel as you
work. (Ravioli can be prepared up to 1 hour before cooking.)

In large kettle of gently boiling water, cook ravioli in batches, for
about 2 minutes or until they rise to top and are tender. Drain on
clean towel and transfer to heated plates. Keep warm in low oven. In
last batch of ravioli cook reserved asparagus tips.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter , stir in remaining basil.
Drizzle butter mixture over ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Garnish each plate with asparagus tips and serve immediately.

-Note: I like to add the ravioli to the melted butter and basil to
keep warm while I cook the next batch.

Oh Ann, that looks divine!

I am definitely going to try that recipe as I love, love, love anything asparagus!

Linda