10 Recipes That Teach You How To Cook Asparagus Like A Pro

Asparagus is the workhorse of the springtime kitchen. Unlike the fussier darlings (I still love them), fava beans, peas, and artichokes, all of which require copious amounts of preparation time. Asparagus is relatively simple. Instead of partaking in tasks like shelling, trimming, and de-choking, asparagus can be at its pinnacle with a simple trim, quick blanch, drizzle of oil, and dusting of salt. We get pencil thin asparagus here, as well as asparagus thick as a candle - and everything in between. Here are a range of asparagus winners that will teach you how to cook asparagus like a pro. Happy spring, and enjoy!

1. A Simple Aspragus Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
A great starter recipe. Everyone should have a good asparagus soup in their back pocket. This one is tops - fresh asparagus, new potatoes, a bit of green curry paste, and coconut milk are pureed to make this spring favorite. Get the recipe here.

2. Avocado Asparagus Tartine - (101 Cookbooks)
An excellent impromptu springtime lunch tartine: avocado smeared across toasted day-old slabs of sesame bread, layered with arugula and garlicky caraway asparagus + toasted pepitas. Get the recipe here.

3. Grilled Asparagus Plate + Cilantro Pepita Pesto - (Sprouted Kitchen)
Cheers to spring produce from Sprouted Kitchen. Love this simple preparation with the pesto. It has a surprise kiss of chipotle in it, along with a hint of lime. Perfection. Get the recipe here.

4. Weeknight Ponzu Pasta - (101 Cookbooks)
All things green in a quick, weeknight pasta option. It's feel-good food that won't weigh you down - ponzu dressing, green vegetables, and the pasta of your choice. Swap asparagus in for the green beans here, and you're all good. Get the recipe here.

5. Shaved Asparagus and Shell Pea Salad With Rhubarb Vinaigrette - (Hungry Ghost)
Spring magic with a rhubarb vinaigrette. Shaved asparagus with all the things fresh and green. Get the recipe here.

6. Asparagus Stir-fry - (101 Cookbooks)
A favorite stir-fry recipe. Asparagus and tofu form the base, but it has quite a lot going on beyond that. You get a bite of tang from the lime, heat from the red chiles and fresh ginger, mint and basil cool things down, and a touch hoisin sauce gives you just enough sweetness to balance it all out. Get the recipe here.

7. Fava Bean and Asparagus Salad - (Bon Appétit)
Love this Alison Roman recipe. Also, a good opportunity to get your fava peeling fix on, if that's what you're in the mood for. Get the recipe here.

8. Asparagus Cilantro Salad - (101 Cookbooks)
I love this salad so much. And, unless you absolutely loathe cilantro, you must try it. Simply cilantro leaves and stems tossed with a simple shallot-forward soy sauce dressing, plus peanuts, and asparagus. So good. Get the recipe here.

9. Grilled Asparagus Spring Rolls - (Bojon Gourmet)
Yes to spring rolls. Yes to ginger lime dipping sauce. Get the recipe here.

10. Asparagus Panzanella - (101 Cookbooks)
A simple asparagus panzanella - a quick, mustard buttermilk dressing accents good asparagus, alongside crusty shards of toasted bread, and a dusting of sesame seeds. Shred a hard boiled egg over the top and you've got an even more substantial meal.Get the recipe here.

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Triple-Oat Breakfast Cereal

I keep a big, double container of this on hand for days when a quick breakfast is in order. It's one of a handful of custom cereal blends I like to keep in rotation - there's also this one, and this one. The big-batch thing is the magic. Especially if you're at all lazy, but still want a great breakfast. The thing that makes this cereal blend different? It's oat centric. So, if you're trying to work more oats into your diet, make this a go-to. Rolled oats and oat bran In addition to unsweetened O's cereal form the oat trifecta, with puffed kamut added for more crunch, and freeze-dried blue berries for a boost.

Like I mention related to the other cereal blends, I'm including the recipe for what I think of as my "master" cereal recipe, but use it as a jumping off point, and don't get hung up on whether you can track down the exact cereals I use.

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White Bean Soup with Pesto Herb Dumplings

This is the sort of meal I've been craving since I arrived home from India. Hearty, substantial, and squarely in the comfort food realm. It's the simplest of bean soups, topped with plump herb-packed dumplings. I use whatever herbs I have on hand, and in this case it was dill, basil, and minced lemongrass, along with lots of scallions. Doubling down on the herb flavors, I also add a big dollop of pesto. A classic dumpling stew with a green, herby twist. Super delicious, and satisfying.

I note a number of variations in the headnotes of the recipe down below. If you don't want to go the pesto route, a mustard-spike is also delicious. Or, harissa! A couple of tablespoons of harissa paste in place of pesto takes the dumplings in a completely different directions.

Making this soup vegan is simple. The soup is already vegan, you just need to make a couple tweaks to the dumplings. First, be sure to use nut milk in the dumpling batter, and omit the egg (adding an extra 1/4 cup of nut milk to the batter). The details are in the headnotes as well. The dumplings are a bit more dense, but still tasty. The one important detail to adhere to - don't oversize the dumplings.

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Ten Most Popular Noodle Recipes

Everyone loves noodles, and I've posted a lot of noodle recipes in the past decade. Here are ten of the most popular.

1. Sriracha Rainbow Noodle Salad - (101 Cookbooks)
This is a salad you'll crave every day. A radiant, color-flecked tangle of noodles, cabbage, shredded carrots, pickled sushi ginger, and an abundance of cilantro, basil, and scallions. It has tofu and peanuts, coconut, ginger, avocado, and hemp seeds. The dressing(!) - it's simple but strong, and steps in with an assertive spicy sriracha-lime punch. Get the recipe here.

2. My Favorite Veg Ramen - (101 Cookbooks)
My attempt at tackling a great veg ramen. Introduce your favorite noodles to a rich, miso-scallion nut-milk broth. Add a blitz of seasonal toppings, and spicy turmeric oil to finish. Also, suggestions for seasonal adaptations. Get the recipe here.

3. Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables - (101 Cookbooks)
This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of vegetables, and kissed with chile feistiness courtesy of the condiment shelf.
Get the recipe here.

4. Sunshine Pad Thai - (101 Cookbooks)
If you love pad thai, you need to try this simple trick to make a turmeric noodle version. Get the recipe here.

5. Slurp-tastic Herb Noodles - (101 Cookbooks)
A big, slurpy bowl of whisper-thin spinach noodles draped in a spicy curry and herb broth - inspired by a beautiful box of noodles I picked up in Mill Valley, Ca. Get the recipe here.

6. Harissa Spaghettini - (101 Cookbooks)
A unique and flavor-packed pasta recipe. Whole wheat pasta noodles, olives, kale, pine nuts tossed in a pan for a tangle with a garlic-charged harissa and olive oil sauce. Get the recipe here.

7. Black Sesame Otsu - (101 Cookbooks)
The Black Sesame Otsu recipe from Super Natural Every Day - soba noodles and tofu slathered in a thinned-out, salty-sweet black sesame paste, then topped with lots of sliced green onions. Get the recipe here.

8. New Year Noodle Soup - Ash-e-Reshteh - (101 Cookbooks)
An amazing New Year Noodle Soup from Greg & Lucy Malouf's beautiful book, Saraban. It's a bean and noodle soup at its core featuring thin egg noodles swimming in a fragrant broth spiced with turmeric, cumin, chiles, and black pepper. You use a medley of lentils, chickpeas, and borlotti beans which makes the soup heart and filling without being heavy. You add spinach, dill, and cilantro. You add lime juice for a bit of sour at the end. And then you've got a number of toppings to add when you serve the soup - chopped walnuts, caramelized onions, and sour cream. Amazing. Get the recipe here.

9. Ottolenghi Soba Noodles with Aubergine and Mango - (101 Cookbooks)
Spicy brown sugar and lime-sauced soba noodles with tofu, eggplant, mango and lots of herbs. Inspired by a rare mango find, and a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook, Plenty. Get the recipe here.

10. Last Minute Everything Bagel Noodle Bowl - (101 Cookbooks)
A perfect one-pot meal. Noodles, tofu, and broccoli boiled in one pot, drained, tossed with splashes of olive oil and ponzu, plus a generous showering of everything bagel seasoning to finish it all off.Get the recipe here.

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