Going Gourmet with Albino Asparagus

I love asparagus. Back while growing up, my dad used to take us to this Chinese restaurant in Bangalore (I forget what it was called) where I would always order chicken-asparagus soup that was THE best chicken-asparagus soup I have ever eaten. Now apparently the restaurant does not exist anymore. Anyway, so coming back to asparagus- I usually buy the normal green kind and cook it the standard way- you  know, either steamed, grilled or quickly sauteed and then sprinkled with some salt, pepper, crushed garlic, lemon juice. Oh and a drizzle of good olive oil. Sometimes add a dab of butter. Simple and delicious!

I happened to see albino asparagus yesterday in the store and decided to buy some for the first time. Was thinking of a nice gourmet meal for dinner. After thinking hard, I decided to stick to that standard recipe of quickly sauteeing the asparagus. And so, washed the asparagus.

White/Albino Asparagus

I got my pan going on the stove, threw in the asparagus, drizzled some good old olive oil, followed by some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper as well as some dried herb powder. Within 3-4  minutes, it was done. It looked pretty good at that point. I then tasted it, starting with the tip. Hmm, nice- definitely milder than green asparagus. Then it began to taste bitter and stringy (peel). I figured that perhaps the bitterness is what makes it "gourmet!" Later, upon looking it up online, I learned that I should have peeled the asparagus. Oh well! Now I know!

Baked Salmon & Albino Asparagus

Finally we did have a gourmet meal that comprised of this beautiful mildly bitter (and not peeled!) white asparagus with baked salmon and brown+wild rice.

Gourmet Meal

I intend to buy white/albino asparagus again and actually cook it the right way. Well, I wasn't off by that much, really- the only thing I didn't do was to peel 'em. Next time I'll perhaps try to recreate that chicken-asparagus soup that I remember from childhood........I might be successful!