Sunday, May 22, 2022

Julie Laing's Quick-Pickled Spring Asparagus -- a guest and a #bookgiveaway


LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  As some of you know, I live in rural NW Montana. When a weekly newspaper in the valley started running a food column written by a local food blogger and cookbook author, I had to meet her! I emailed, we met for lunch -- our valley is also home to one of the best little breakfast and lunch joints I've ever been in -- and hit it off. So I was delighted to discover that she's a mystery reader as well as an avid gardener and recipe hound. And it didn't take much hounding to get her to join us as a guest.

Talk to us in the comments for a chance to win a signed copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling, by Julie Laing.

JULIE LAING: I’m thrilled to be a guest of Mystery Lover’s Kitchen. As a reader, I’m a fellow mystery lover. As a writer, all my work starts in the kitchen, including for my Twice as Tasty food blog, my weekly column in The Flathead Beacon, and my cookbook, The Complete Guide to Pickling, and its companion digital collection, The Pickled Picnic.

When Leslie Budewitz invited me to share a recipe from The Complete Guide to Pickling (and give away a signed copy!), she mentioned her love of pickled asparagus. Since we’re just harvesting the first crop in my area, I couldn’t resist sharing my quick-pickled Spring Asparagus recipe. It’s one of the many ways I pickle asparagus, and my progression goes like this: The first harvest becomes Spring Asparagus with spring garlic. Once this season’s garlic scapes appear, the next rounds become Refrigerated Asparagus Spears, which can be canned if you have a bumper crop. Finally, as asparagus production slows, the first bulb onions are big enough to use in fermented jars.

Each version is incredibly delicious, and thanks to a presentation I gave for Free the Seeds earlier this year, demo videos of the different processes are available on YouTube. All three pickled asparagus recipes are in The Complete Guide to Pickling—among its 125 recipes for quick, refrigerator, canned, and fermented pickles; salsas and chutneys; hot sauces; and more. I give ideas for using these pickles and their brines, such as Potato and Pickled Asparagus Salad, in The Pickled Picnic.

Quick-Pickled Spring Asparagus

Makes about 4 cups

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 5 minutes infusing time

Curing time: 1 to 2 hours

As soon as my garlic bulbs and early asparagus start to grow, out comes this recipe. Spring garlic is immature and harvested when it looks like a green onion; you can often find it in farmers’ markets in early spring, and it’s a great way to use clumps of garlic you might have missed in your fall harvest when they start to sprout again. Homegrown young onions or Egyptian walking onions can replace scallions.

1-1/2 cups white wine vinegar (5% acidity)

1-1/2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon Morton pickling salt

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Pinch chili flakes

20 medium asparagus spears (1 pound)

2 whole spring garlic stalks, or 1 garlic clove, minced

2 whole scallions

 In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the peppercorns, mustard seeds, and chili flakes; let infuse for 5 minutes.

Cut the ends of the asparagus off and cut the spring garlic and scallions to a similar length. In a clean, shallow container with a lid, arrange them evenly. Pour the brine over the vegetables, cover the container, and let sit for 1 to 2 hours before serving.


For longer storage, remove the garlic and scallions and strain the brine, collecting it in a large measuring cup. Pack the asparagus into two clean, tall 24-ounce jars and pour the brine over the spears, ensuring they are submerged. Screw on a nonreactive lid and store in the refrigerator, where the pickles will keep for months.

Excerpt from The Complete Guide to Pickling, by Julie Laing, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2020 by Callisto Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

 As you can see, quick-picked asparagus is so easy: infuse brine, pour over asparagus, briefly wait, and enjoy. As I mentioned earlier, I use the spears in Potato and Pickled Asparagus Salad; I also slice them onto grilled sourdough pizza, toss them with arugula or couscous, roll them into sushi, and drop them into a grilled tomato Bloody Mary—when I’m not crunching on them straight from the container. 

Readers, do you love pickled asparagus like we do? Other favorite vegetables -- or fruits -- you like to pickle? Favorite recipes that use pickled things? Or do you prefer to cultivate friends who do the pickling and bring you a jar or two? One lucky reader will win a signed copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling -- be sure to leave your email address. (US addresses only; winner will be chosen Wed, May 25.)    



The Complete Guide to Pickling is available wherever books are sold. The companion collection, The Pickled Picnic, is available exclusively through TwiceasTasty.com.


Julie Laing has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. She is the author of The Complete Guide to Pickling (Rockridge Press, 2020), The Pickled Picnic (Twice As Tasty, 2020), and the weekly Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, named after her food blog at TwiceAsTasty.com. Her writing has also appeared online for publications including The Spruce Eats, Clean Plates, Fifth Season, and Greatist.

Julie lives in northwest Montana, where she and her husband, George, fill every spare space in their 500-square-foot cabin with homegrown and home-preserved food. When they’re not at home, Julie and George are most likely sailing aboard the Blue Mule.

Photos credits:

Ingredient and step-by-step photos by Andrea Getts.

Author photo by Brenda Ahearn Photography (LAB: Brenda took my author photo, too! We love her!)


37 comments:

  1. Welcome Julie! What fun to have you visiting our kitchen! My hub and I make bread and butter pickles every year from our garden. Will have to try your asparagus!

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    1. Thank you! Bread and butters are one of my favorites. Growing up, we called them "sweet pickles" in my family, because they were sweeter than the dills we also made, so imagine my surprise the first time I ate true sweet pickles! B&Bs are still about as sweet as I want to go.

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  2. I've done my share of pickling with my Granny, with my Mom and on my own - pickles, piccalilli, okra and Indian peaches to name a few. Hubby LOVES asparagus, but don't think he's ever ate it pickled. We do have a patch that we harvest so I'll be trying this yummy sounding recipe.

    Hubby loves to garden. I tease him that he's just never grown up from playing in the dirt. He's quite good at it too and able to share the bounty with several folks. His only requirement is they have to be elderly or disabled stating that well-bodied young folks need to learn to fend for themselves. LOL We retired and downsized a few years back moving to our dream destination. Due to age and condition of the soil (we do live in STONE county after all LOL), we now have a smaller garden in a raised bed, but it produces all we need and then some.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy of "The Complete Guide to Pickling"! I know I could sure put it to good use. Shared and hoping to be the fortunate one selected.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Kay, I have never heard of pickled peaches, though my mother occasionally pickled watermelon. Your husband sounds like a typical gardener -- happiest when dirty, and so generous! LOL about the stones -- we joke around here that it's the Rocky Mtns and the Stony Valleys!

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    2. I may have to get YOUR recipe for pickled Indian peaches, Kay. I do have a pickled peach recipe in my cookbook, for a quick pickled flavored with cinnamon and ginger, that's delicious on sourdough waffles. It's so great to hear about your garden generosity!

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  3. We have tons of asparagus but eat most of it fresh and then freeze a little, never thought about pickling any. But we do some cabbage, beets, and pickles.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Fresh asparagus is the surest sign of spring -- right there with robins and tulips!

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    2. I hope you try the asparagus pickles--they're so delicious! I prefer pickled ones to frozen even if I'm going to cook them, like in stir-fry, although I do freeze asparagus puree for soup.

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  4. Friends, Julie and I are both traveling today, but we'll chime in when we can!

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  5. I had never heard of pickled asparagus but it sounds good. I am afraid that I am in the camp who prefers to let others pickle and share their bounty.

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    1. That's a good camp to be in! When I settled in Montana and started a garden, my mom gave me all her canning equipment so that I could make things for her too.

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  6. I’ve been meaning to learn how to make Bread and Butter pickles. My husband loves them but he balks at buying the ones at the farmers market because they are approaching $10 a jar this year.
    Cjskelton1 (at) Verizon (dot) net

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    1. Wow--those had better be some good bread and butter pickles! I included my favorite B&B recipe in my cookbook. I make them with honey and use a little less sweetener than most B&B recipes, so the flavors really pop.

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  7. A pickle specialist! How fun.

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  8. Pickled asparagus are so tasty and especially special for summer. I would love to pickle but I have tasted many other pickled veggies which I enjoy. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. There are so many delicious options! When my publisher wanted 125 pickling recipes, it felt a little daunting, but in the end I still had ideas that wouldn't fit.

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  9. My grandmother was a talented cook and baker. She also pickled. The favorite was cucumbers which became pickles and were wonderful. Pickled cauliflower, beets and carrots are very good. You are very talented. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you! Cucumber pickles are so good, but you're right--there are so many options.

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  10. A family favorite is picked mustard greens used in stir fry dishes.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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    1. I love it! That's actually one I didn't include in this book. Maybe the next edition.

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  11. I’ve been pickling for more than 35 years but never heard of pickled asparagus. Sounds like I’ll have to give it a try.

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  12. I love asparagus! I've never had it pickled, since this is asparagus season it's a good time to try the recipe.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Exactly--I'm all about pickling things in season. If you give the pickled version a go, you'll have to let me know what you think.

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  13. I love asparagus in any recipe. I have pickled okra before. Pickled vegetables are wonderful!

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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    1. I agree, Nancy. I loved pickled vegetables before I wrote the book, and I've only become more hooked on them.

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  14. Welcome, Julie! I used to pickle a lot more when I had a small farm, and frankly, I prefer my asparagus fresh and steamed with a quick vinaigrette. But pickled dilly beans and garlicky dill cucumber pickles are big favorites around here.

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    1. Thanks, Edith! I hear you on the vinaigrette--depending on how you're using them, fresh may be better. Have you grilled asparagus? I prefer it to steaming, and you may enjoy it too. And dill is such a good flavor with pickled beans and cukes. I couldn't resist adding multiple recipes with those flavor combos to my book.

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  15. I do love asparagus but have never tried it pickled. I do love pickled cucumbers. Thanks for sharing the yummy sounding recipe. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. If you love pickled cucumbers, Cherie, I'm betting you'll love the asparagus too. Enjoy!

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  16. I’ve never had pickled asparagus . I usually get my pickles at the local farm market. sgiden at verizon(.) net

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    1. I love that you're supporting your local farmers! If you have the time, it's worth buying their produce to make the pickles yourself so that you can flavor them to your liking.

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  17. I love asparagus but never tried pickled asparagus. Sounds good! I have pickled bread and butter pickles and cucumbers. Yum!

    Thanks so much for the chance! I would absolutely love to win your cookbook!!

    jarjm1980(@)hotmail(dot)com

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  18. With your pickling experience, I think you're going to love the asparagus pickles. Be sure to let me know how they turn out.

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  19. Thanks for all the great comments, friends! Keep 'em coming -- Mr, Kitten will choose the winner of Julie's book on Wednesday!

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