I feel like I’ve been thinking of and buying presents for weeks! M’s 5th birthday is coming up, my niece and nephew have birthdays this month, we’ve got Mother’s Day this weekend and we’ve got two kid birthday parties to go to in the next couple of weeks. Then right after all that is Father’s Day, followed by two more family birthdays. So if you have any fabulous birthday ideas or sites, please do let me know! I am going to run out here soon… But the food part of the various parties and celebrations, well, I’ve got that covered 😉
And my favorite new way to jazz up a side dish is this asparagus almondine. It’s a perfect spring dish and works equally as well for busy weeknight dinners as it does for impressing company, or serving a special mom in your life! Almondine, if you’re wondering, just means a garnish of almonds. It’s also sometimes spelled amandine outside of the U.S. Fish and green beans are common candidates for this type of dish, but I went with asparagus. Mostly because it’s spring and I try to eat ALL the asparagus while it’s in season, to tide me over until next year 😉 Almondine is usually made with butter and herbs, and I added some fresh lemon zest and juice to really brighten it up.
And it does! The long, tender, buttery asparagus is sprinkled with the almandine mixture to give it a well-balanced mixture of flavors and a good dose of crunch from the almond bits. Love a little texture party in my mouth!
Notes on easy asparagus almondine:
I prefer to get the thin pencil-size type asparagus when possible. If yours are on the thicker side, you’ll just need to cook them a little longer until they are fork tender. Or if your asparagus is the super thin kind, you’ll only need 2-3 minutes to cook them. No one wants mushy asparagus! I think one tablespoon of butter is enough here, but you could double that if you want an extra buttery flavor. Toasting the almonds first really helps bring out their nutty flavor. I don’t recommend skipping that step!
This goes great with any meal, really. My slow cooker apricot chicken, creamy lemon chicken spaghetti, spiced pork chops, even just some grilled meats and roasted potatoes would all work well with this. And it would also be lovely as part of a Mother’s Day brunch or dinner spread! Put a smile on her face cause trust me, this motherhood business is not for the faint of heart! Whatever celebrations you’ve got coming up, I hope you’ll find a time to try this asparagus almondine. Enjoy! XO, Kathryn
I prefer to get the thin pencil-size type asparagus when possible. If yours are on the thicker side, you’ll just need to cook them a little longer until they are fork tender. Or if your asparagus is the super thin kind, you’ll only need 2-3 minutes to cook them. No one wants mushy asparagus! I think one tablespoon of butter is enough here, but you could double that if you want an extra buttery flavor.
