Hello,
I’m going to try this creamy garlic chicken recipe tonight (although, I’m going to try adding a little white wine in the reduction) and was hoping someone could help me out with a small detail. My wife and I would like to have a side of asparagus, baked in the oven separate from the main dish and then finished off in the sauce for the last 10 minutes or so. The problem is, I don’t know how long to cook the asparagus before finishing it off in the braiser with the main dish.
Any thoughts?
I think you may be over complicating this. Why not just blanch the asparagus to the desired tenderness and set aside. Then serve your chicken dish over it.
Asparagus will cook to “al dente” in about five minutes. So, I think you’re looking at either baking it or cooking it in the sauce, but not really both.
Have a steam basket or similar setup? Clean, shave and steam the asparagus the last few minutes of the entree dish. They should still have a snap as @Harters suggests.
I’d go with steaming, as @Rooster said. You can steam in probably 5 minutes max (to tender-crisp), depending on the thickness of the stalks, then drizzle a bit of the sauce over top for plating.
If you don’t have a steamer basket, use the microwave. I’ve never tried this method, but TheKitchn is usually reliable.
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-steam-asparagus-in-the-microwave-243306
Agree with @Rooster and @LindaWhit. However, I have begun to flash poach (peeled) asparagus in, say, half to 3/4 inch water in a frying pan. It cooks in a couple of minutes, is easily drained and iced if you wish. Always tender-crisp. Very simple, no special equip needed.
Good to know.
