Asparagus is my absolute fav green vegetable. I like it steamed, roasted, grilled, wrapped in prosciutto. I like asparagus in served any way you can think of so long as it isn’t overcook. Overcooked asparagus should be classified as a crime against humanity. Properly cooked asparagus should have some snap to it, which is why asparagus pickles are a very, very good idea. My recipe is based on Marisa’s from Food in Jars. (Marisa’s was based on the recipe from Putting Up. Circle of life, y’all.)
Never pickled anything? No worries! Pickling only sounds complicated. It’s actually easy-peasy and the rewards more than make up for the hour or so it will take you to make them.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 pounds asparagus
1 1/2 cups vinegar (half apple cider vinegar, half white vinegar)
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pickling spice
2 tablespoon red hot chili flakes (optional)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
4 slices of lemon
4 dried chilis (also optional)
2 quart canning jars, sterilized
Start by trimming your asparagus. You want it to be about a half inch shorter than your jars so that they will fit. Trim off the ends, reserving them for asparagus soup if you like.
Now you’re ready to blanch the asparagus. Blanching just means plunging the asparagus into boiling water very, very briefly, then submerging into a ice bath to stop the cooking. I’ve found the best way to do this is to bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, fill the sink with water and add lots ice. (This is a great time to clean out the ice maker.)
When the water is at a rolling boil, remove it from the stovetop and place it on the counter beside the ice-filled sink. Working in batches, drop the asparagus in to the pot and remove with tongs immediately to the ice bath. Continue until all the asparagus has been blanched, the remove from the ice bath to a tea towel to dry.
Place the lemon slices, garlic cloves and dried chills into the sterilized jars. Pack the asparagus into the jars, dividing them evenly. Bring the vinegars, water, salt, pickling spice and red pepper flakes to a vigorous boil on the stove, then pour the pickling liquid into the jars, covering the asparagus but leaving a little head room at the top.
At this point you can either allow the jars to cool and pop them in the refrigerator or process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Either way, wait at least 24 hours before devouring.
