On Sunday, November 1st, I achieved a culinary milestone: I ate asparagus for the first time.

Now I’ve definitely heard of and knew about asparagus for decades, but never grew up with it as part of a regular cuisine, hence…..

So, I was never motivated nor interested enough to check it out, until the last week of October 2020.

My brother just happened to have several extra stalks of fresh, raw asparagus that he didn’t need. They were then passed on to me.

The curiosity factor kicked into high gear as I looked and pondered over my newfound bounty. What to do, what to do?

I decided to look up ways to cook and prepare asparagus. There were several; for one, I went “old school” and got a super-simple, very quick idea (it’s not really a recipe per se) from a large brochure or mini-magazine pamphlet for Cook’s Illustrated.

I roasted several fresh asparagus stalks at 500 degrees F in a regular oven for just 8 to 10 minutes. The following step is optional; a couple of hours before, I had the stalks marinating in a tangy sauce:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2-3 drops of French or Catalina dressing

2-3 drops of Italian dressing, tangy or regular

A few dashes of some favorite seasonings, like Old Bay, pepper, and garlic powder (or garlic salt, garlic pepper, etc.)

The end results were delicious! As Cook’s Illustrated foretold, there was a deep flavor and a crispy-tender texture throughout. But the marinated seasoning also gave a great ‘ Mediterranean zing‘ to the dish. Yum!

Asparagus by itself or ‘as is‘ has its own quite distinct flavor. It’s hard to describe, because it doesn’t taste nor is close to anything I’ve previously eaten.

But it’s not nasty!

For further discovering or just regular appreciation, here’s a recipe for:

Asparagus Orange Bundles

Ingredients

2 lbs. asparagus spears, trimmed

3 Tbs. sherry vinegar

2 Tbs. red onion, minced

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. grainy mustard

1 tsp. freshly grated orange zest

One-fourth tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 oranges

In a large pot over high heat, bring asparagus and enough water to a boil.

Cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Drain, pat dry and divide into eight bundles.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, onion, mustard, zest, and pepper.

With a channel knife (a small knife with a metal “V” formation; primarily used to cut strips of citrus fruit rind. Don’t have one? Just sub with a good paring knife), peel skins of oranges into eight long strips.

Wrap one strip around each asparagus bundle; tie.

Arrange the bundles on a serving dish.

Drizzle the dressing over asparagus just before serving.

Makes 8

Work time: 15 min.

Total time: 20 min.