Asparagus Three Ways

Spring means beautiful asparagus in the grocery store.   I wanted to showcase three different ways you can prepare it for any meal.

Asparagus Three Ways

 Ingredients:

• asparagus, ends removed
• bacon, sliced long ways
• olive oil
• shallots
• Italian vinaigrette
• salt and pepper

Directions:

For Blanched Asparagus in Italian Vinaigrette - quickly blanch asparagus spears in boiling water for 3 minutes, then remove to an ice bath to immediately stop the cooking process.   Once cooled, place into container, drizzle any Italian Vinaigrette over them and refrigerate until chilled.

For Shallot Sauteed Asparagus -in a saute pan, add olive oil, shallots and asparagus and saute for about 5 minutes, keeping the asparagus crisp.   Serve immediately.

For Bacon Wrapped Asparagus - cut a strip of bacon long ways and wrap diagonally around a small bundle of asparagus.   Place on a Silpat or any other non stick baking mat and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until bacon is cooked, about 12 minutes.   Remove from oven and plate immediately.

I actually served the three different asparagus types on the same platter at the same time for variety!