review marinated asparagus bundles

[jjf]

i made this recipe from the make ahead supplement and it looked beautiful on the platter. it tasted ok - but the marinade was a little too vinegary for me.
i would like to make it again because it was so easy and, like i said, looked elegant - but since i was not crazy about the marinade - i am wondering if any of you have suggestions for a sauce that could be poured over the bundles or even another marindade. maybe there is another cooking light recipe using asparagus from past issues and i could combine the 2 recipes - i'm sure there is, i just can't remember one. ok - i'm getting a little long winded now...
any suggestions are appreciated! thanks

jen

[laden]

I agree with you. It was beautiful on the plate but a little too strong on the vinegar. How about reducing the vinegar. If it calls for 1 cup then use 1/2 c vinegar 1/2 cup water.

Or assemble the asparagus bundles (undercook them) without the marinade and top with another type of sauce (ie, light hollandaise, sesame oriental, lemon butter and zap in the microwave for a minute till heated.

[jjf]

sesame oriental sounds good - any recipes out there?

jen

[kltcarley]

Here is a marinade for asparagus I read last night before I saw this post. I was thinking of trying, but adjusting the oil to lighten it. If you did't want to make it a cold salad you might still use a variation of the dressing.

Marinated Asparagus salad
1/2 olive oil
1/2 cup light vegetable oil
1/4 cup coarsley chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 small mild onion, sliced in rings

Steam asparagus until tender;drain and run under cold water. Place in shallow serving dish. In a medium bowl, combine the oils, parsley,lime juice, sugar, and mustard;set aside. Layer the chopped bell pepper and onion slices on top of asparagus;pour the marinade over the vegetables. Cover with plastic wrap;refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

[jillmayre]

I think this is a recipe repeat. I found it on the Cooking Light website a few years ago.

I love it! I take it to potluck suppers and people go crazy over it! I don't fool around with making bundles -- I just chop up the red pepper with all the other stuff!

I must have given copies of this recipe to about 30 people. Wonderful!

[1MegMeg]

Those of you that have made this, do you make it the day before you serve it or the day of? I am making this for Thanksgiving (which is at 2pm) and I am trying to decide if I should make it Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Will it be too vinegary if I make it Wednesday night? Thanks! :)

[shscharles]

OK you guys...you can't talk about a recipe without giving it! I tripped over a sale on asparagus this morning, resisted, and now I'm thinking I'll go back and get some for TG. Please, pretty pretty please may I have the recipe? (kltcarley...yours sounds good, but I LIKE vinegar!)

[1MegMeg]

Here you go :)

Marinated Asparagus Bundles
From Cooking Light

Thin asparagus spears work best in this elegant side dish.

2 1/2 pounds asparagus
10 green onions
2 red bell peppers, cut into 20 strips
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cover and cook in a small amount of boiling water 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water; drain well.
Trim white portion from green onions, and reserve for another use. Place green onion tops in a bowl; add boiling water to cover. Drain immediately, and rinse under cold running water.

Gather asparagus into 10 bundles, and add 2 bell pepper strips to each bundle. Tie each bundle with a green onion strip. Place bundles in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Combine chopped onion and next 9 ingredients (onion through pepper) in a bowl; stir well. Pour over asparagus bundles. Cover and chill 2 to 8 hours.

To serve, remove asparagus bundles from marinade, and discard marinade. Arrange asparagus bundles on a serving platter.

Yield: 10 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 28 (10% from fat); FAT 0.3g (sat 0.1g, mono 0.0g, poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 2g; CARB 5.6g; FIBER 1.4g; CHOL 0.0mg; IRON 0.9mg; SODIUM 51mg; CALC 28mg;

[shscharles]

Thanks! I'm a sucker for a recipe that can be done ahead and looks good...