Butter Braised Asparagus Recipes

BUTTER-BRAISED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Snap off and discard the tough bottoms of the asparagus spears. If using large, thick asparagus, peel the lower ends with a vegetable peeler.
• Put butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus is firm-tender, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook them; they should still be bright green. (They will continue to cook a bit once the heat is off.) Remove the asparagus from the pan and place on a serving platter.
• Turn heat to high and simmer briskly until most of the liquid has evaporated, a minute or so. Add lemon juice and zest to the buttery juices. Turn off heat and stir in chives, parsley, tarragon and dill, if using. Check seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, garnish with a few herb leaves, and serve.

BRAISED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Cut off the woody white ends of the asparagus spears. If desired, remove the tough fibrous outer layer from the lower half of each spear using a vegetable peeler.
• In a straight-sided saute pan, heat oil until smoking. Add asparagus in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Shake pan to turn spears and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add stock and butter to pan and immediately cover.
• Cook until spears are tender and butter and stock have emulsified into a lightly-thickened sauce, 7-10 minutes. (If sauce evaporates and butter begins to burn, add a couple of tablespoons of water.) Serve at once.

BUTTER BRAISED GIANNONE CHICKEN WITH SUMMER TRUFFLES AND FOIE GRAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Prepare chicken by cutting off the legs, neck, and wings. Remove skin from legs and de-bone both legs; reserve skin. Take the skin and roll it out until flat. Place between 2 silpat mats or greased parchment paper and bake with weighted iron until crisp and golden. Reserve both crisp skin and chicken for later. Leave oven at 250 degrees F.
• Beurre blanc: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent and softened. Deglaze the pan with wine. Add cream and then slowly emulsify the remaining butter into the liquid until creamy and emulsified. Remove from the heat.
• Season the reserved chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then place breasts, wing side down, in a rondeau. Pour beurre blanc over the breasts and add thyme, lemon verbena, and cardamom. Make sure the chicken has enough room to "swim" in the butter and is completely covered. Cover chicken with a round cut from parchment paper. Poach in the oven at 250 degrees F until fully cooked through and tender. Make sure butter does not exceed 140 degrees F.
• Roulade: Remove any tendons and sinew from the legs and lightly flatten the leg meat. Season the legs with salt and pepper and fill with a 4-ounce piece of foie gras that has been cut into a long rectangle. Repeat this step for the other leg. Roll the leg around the foie gras and let it rest on the fold. Soak the caul fat in salted water for 30 minutes.
• Unwrap the caul fat and lay it out to dry. Cut a square out of the caul fat about the same size as the length of the roulade. Allow enough fat to cover the roulade completely. Using butchers' twine, tie up the roulade, allowing at least an inch in between each tie and making sure you do not tie the roulade too tight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the roulades in a large, hot, oven-safe skillet. Sear over high heat until evenly browned. Transfer skillet to the oven and roast until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat and let rest.
• Garnish: Blanch the leeks and asparagus in boiling, salted water. Glaze with butter, thyme, and minced shallots. Season with sea salt and pepper.
• Arrange the leeks on 1 side of the plate diagonally from a pile of the asparagus. Place a slice of the poached chicken breast on top of the asparagus. Place a slice of the chicken roulade on top of the baby leeks. Garnish the plate with summer truffle slices, and a pluche of fine herbs. Finish with Fleur de Sel and crisp chicken skin.
• Sauce: Reduce your chicken jus until it reaches the desired flavor. Adjust the flavor with 50 percent red wine reduction, percent Port wine reduction, and a little foie gras fat. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.

BUTTER-POACHED ASPARAGUS WITH THYME

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 bunch trimmed asparagus and 1/4 cup water. Cook, turning the asparagus, until crisp-tender and glazed, 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme.

OVEN-ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

SAUTEED GARLIC ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and asparagus spears; cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until asparagus is tender. If you like your asparagus well done, reduce heat and cook an additional 10 minutes.

BROWNED BUTTER ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Cook asparagus in 1" salted boiling water for about 5-7 minutes to crisp-tender, or until desired tenderness is reached. (Or microwave the asparagus to desired doneness.) Drain asparagus and return to hot saucepan and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat butter over med-high heat. After about 3 minutes, it should start to foam; stir constantly and add garlic, salt and pepper. Keep stirring. When foaming stops, butter should be browned and kind of "grainy" looking.
• Remove from heat; stir in sugar.
• Pour browned butter mixture over cooked asparagus. Serve.

BUTTER-POACHED ASPARAGUS, LEEKS & PEAS

Steps:

• Bring 100ml water to a simmer in a saucepan, add a pinch of salt and whisk in the butter. Drop in the leeks, cook for 2 mins,then add the asparagus and peas, and cook for 2 mins more. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and mint.
• To serve, remove the veg from the emulsion with a slotted spoon, then spoon over some of the buttery poaching juices.