Every spring season we enjoy going out into the countryside to look for wild-growing fresh asparagus. You can often find it alongside country roads, especially the ones with a little bit of a ditch. If you’re going out to pick wild asparagus you’ll want to wear garden gloves, take along a pair of kitchen shears (for cutting) and a basket or bucket to collect it. Only pick the spears that look great…leave the damaged ones behind.
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Once you get home you want to rinse all of the asparagus under cold running water to remove dirt and debris. Make sure you get them really clean. Trim the end of each spear about 1″to 2″ from the bottom (that’s the tough, woody texture portion) and toss it away. Continue until they’re all washed and trimmed.
Fill up a large bowl with cool water. Place them into the bowl of water to soak for 5 minutes. Some of my friends like to add a little bit of salt to the water…some don’t. After soaking…rinse them under cold running water again. If you have a lot of spears…give your kitchen sink a good cleaning. Then soak them in the CLEAN kitchen sink!
Lay a clean cotton towel out on your kitchen counter-top. Lay all of the spears on top of the towel to air dry.
Storage:
Refrigerator: Place the spears into a refrigerator container along with a damp paper towel. They will keep for 2-3 days.
Freezing: Let them fully air dry. Place the spears into freezer bags, purge out the air, zip close. Label and freeze for up to 6 months.
Cooking:
You can roast, steam, grill or saute the asparagus spears. Personally, I wouldn’t cook them in a microwave oven due to them turning into mush.
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