The Wimpy Vegetarian

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Roasted Asparagus Gribiche

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Roasted asparagus topped with chopped hard boiled eggs, and dressing in a gribiche dressing of capers, egg, mustard, and garlic.

I love to garden.

(Rewind. Whrrrrrr.)

Let me rephrase. I love going into my back yard and harvesting vegetables to eat, and love the idea of having grown them myself. But I’m not terribly successful at the actual gardening part. I have issues.

  1. I lack patience.     I don’t have the patience to properly prepare the soil, which is apparently crucial to a successful harvest. My soil amending consists of tossing a bunch of whatever I find in the shed into the area I plan to plant. If the soil is as hard as a rock, which is often, I break it up with a heavy javelin shaped pole, figuring I’m getting in my upper-body workout for the month. But it’s exhausting work, so one side of the garden is noticeably better prepared than the other.
  1. I’m inconsistent.     I start things like gangbusters, ideas clicking away, enthusiasm singing from every pore. This phase peaks with ideas of how to franchise my efforts to solve global hunger, and provide husband, puppy, and me with a cushy lifestyle. The euphoria inevitably fades as I realize not even my hunger will be solved by this garden, and I move beyond to greener pastures of new newest ideas, and start the cycle again. The garden slowly deteriorates until my husband takes pity on it, while pointing out he doesn’t enjoy gardening.
  1. Even though I know something’s risky, I think it will somehow all work out.     Years ago, I shared a backyard garden with two friends. We planted tomatoes with huge success, and all kinds of greens. Heady with all the success, I expanded the garden to an area in front of the house, even though I knew our ‘hood was besieged by marauding deer at night along with a coterie of raccoons and skunks. Those plants lasted 3 days until I found them nibbled down to the ground. Corn was another fail for everyone except for the birds, who were delighted with the corn silk. Those sparrows couldn’t have cared less that the ears of corn were small, and covered with irregularly shaped kernels only Picasso could have loved. Yes I knew the San Francisco foggy cool summers weren’t ideal for growing corn, but I figured it could work since the local gardening place was selling the seedlings.
  1. I don’t research enough before planting.     I’ve tried growing garlic – so easy everyone says, but I think something burrowed through and ate the cloves because I never got any garlic growing, and never could find the cloves again; bush beans — bugs marshaled an epic war and won; and zucchini — the ends rotted before they matured.  One year, I searched for asparagus plants for months and finally hit pay dirt with some small seedlings. The earth was still cold, so I started them in a sunny, warm kitchen window and they flourished. And then I planted them in the ground. Over the next few weeks, I watched them slowly die while I frantically googled ‘how to grow asparagus’ to no avail.

Anyway.

We’re planning to re-landscape our small backyard and I’ve been deliberating whether I want to (try to) grow vegetables again. I almost feel sorry for the seedlings I bring home. I’ve found some great wall-mounted planters that would be ideal (at least on the whiteboard in my head), and we have some really nice sunny spots, and filtered sun areas, but will I get my act together this time?

After much thought, I’ve decided, I can do this thing. Have you seen produce prices lately?? We will ALL need to grow vegetables in the near future. So I’ll be giving you updates on my garden success (or failures) through the spring and summer. Hopefully it’s more of the former than the latter.

Meanwhile this asparagus is not from my garden, which is why it’s so lovely. This dish is perfect for an Easter brunch, or any Spring brunch. I use enough eggs that it approaches a mayonnaise-less egg salad with lots of asparagus. Even the resident mayonnaise-loving carnivore loved it. And that’s an epic win no matter where the food came from.

Cook’s Tips:

  • The rice vinegar is key to the success of this dish – look for Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar. It has the best balance of tart and sweet I’ve tried, and makes this dish sing.
  • Gribiche is a traditional, mayonnaise-style French sauce made by mashing hard-boiled egg yolks into a paste and whisking them into mustard and a neutral oil until emulsified. The sauce is typically finished with chopped capers, cornichons, parsley, chervil and tarragon, and a flurry of julienned egg whites.
  • The roasted asparagus and gribiche sauce can both be made ahead of time and assembled just before serving.

Wimpy Tips:

This would be wonderful with smoked trout for a picnic or served as a side dish alongside grilled trout.

Print Recipe
5 from 10 votes

Asparagus Gribiche: #SundaySupper

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time25 mins
Course: Brunch
Servings: 2 mains or 4 sides
Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Roasted Asparagus

Gribiche (Sauce)

  • 3 hard boiled eggs
  • 3/4 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar ideally Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Dijon country mustard
  • 1 Tbsp capers coarsely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt optional
  • 1 Tbsp thinly sliced green tops of scallions

Instructions

Asparagus

  • Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice off the bottom 1/3 of the asparagus and discard. Wash, dry, toss in olive oil and lay on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
  • Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

Gribiche (Sauce)

  • Remove the yolk from one of the hard boiled eggs, and place in a medium bowl. Mash thoroughly with a fork and whisk in the garlic, rice vinegar, mustard, capers, parsley, and thyme leaves.
  • Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Add salt to taste - you may not need any because of the capers.
  • Lay the roasted asparagus on a serving dish, top with the sauce.
  • Julienne the remaining eggs and arrange on top. I use a potato ricer with the disk of the smallest holes, and it works fabulously.
  • Finish with the green tops of the scallions.

This week’s theme on #SundaySupper is Spring Fling, because we’re all ready to fling ourselves into Spring – especially those areas of the country hard hit by this winter. Huge thanks to DB at Crazy Foodie Stunts and Valerie at Lifestyle Food Artistry for hosting us this week!

SPRING FLINGS

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Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

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Comments

  1. Maureen says

    Wow, this looks amazing. I wish it were coming into Spring here so we could have abundant asparagus again. This recipe is worth pinning for later. 🙂

    Reply

  2. Renee says

    Where has gribiche sauce been all my life? Thank you so much for sharing the recipe because I can’t wait to try this new discovery.

    Reply

  3. Liz says

    I’m like you! I love harvesting, but me forgetting to water is a bit of a problem—especially in August! But I’m good at buying asparagus so I’m excited to have a new recipe 🙂

    Reply

  6. lizthechef says

    I have mostly given up growing vegetables, although I did grow kale and golden beets over the winter. It takes so much water to keep a veggie garden going that with our drought I’m sticking to herbs and my flowers. I figure the farmers deserve my money…Lovely recipe!!

    Reply

  7. Christie says

    I am so with you. I love picking veggies out of our garden but doing the actually gardening. I am pretty hopeless. Luckily for me my hubby likes to do it.

    Reply

    • The Wimpy Vegetarian says

      I’m glad I’m not alone in the gardening thing. I WANT to like the gardening part, I just can’t seem to stick with it. But as soon as I see someone else’s garden, I’m full of enthusiasm again.

      Reply

  8. Terri Steffes says

    When I read this, I though, omg, she is writing my very experience. Are we sisters? I will be following you as a blogger! I love the idea, we try every year and even though last year was a huge success, I will feel sorry for my little plants when I pick them out. Lol, I cannot wait to share this with my husband.

    Reply

  13. Eha says

    This has been one of my favourite ways of eating asparagus either as first course, lunch or dinner side since I was a small child! A long time before I knew about rice vinegar originally coming from N Europe . . . . A big ‘thank you’ also for all the links with my lifelong love for the vegetable . . .

    Reply

  15. Norma Chang says

    I am anxiously waiting for spring to arrive in my corner of the world. Doubt the grounds will thaw and warm for an early spring planting so many of my seedlings will be transplanted into window boxes and containers. Looking forward to following your garden successes.
    Definitely making this asparagus recipe.

    Reply

  18. Diana @DandelionGreensBlog says

    I feel your pain on gardening, and especially liked the “do it with a friend” option! But, yes, you can do it 🙂 And awesome dish- I’ve always wanted to try this… can’t wait!

    Reply

  20. mjskitchen says

    Gardening in one of the most rewarding activities one can spend time on, IMO. For years, I did all of the gardening, from toiling to picking. Now a days, Bobby does the toiling, and planting, then I take over from there. Spending morning in the garden is such a great way to start the day, then serving a plate of homegrown food is an even better way to end the day. So good luck on your garden Susan! Oh, the almighty asparagus. Just can’t get enough of it this time of year so I’m always looking for new recipes. Have never heard of “gribiche”, and it sure looks good! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  23. Julie @ Texan New Yorker says

    This looks so delicious, I love asparagus! I’ve never tried my hand at gardening but I can’t imagine I’d have *any* success, lol! I’m still trying to work up the nerve to plant the basil I got for my birthday in my windowsill!

    Loved reading your post. 🙂

    Reply

  24. Mary @ Fit and Fed says

    That one went right into my ‘recipes to try.’ We roast asparagus so often this time of year and serve it as is just off the grill. I like the idea of dressing it up like this, perfect for a spring brunch. Our table these days is a bit like yours, Susan, divided, with my mom’s special diet, so hers would be served without the cool sauce (gribache sounds like a really good thing to know about).

    Reply

  25. Oui, Chef says

    I LOVE sauce gribiche, and your post totally cracks me up because you SO could have been talking about MY gardening experience. I always have such great plans that I never seem to follow through to veggie success.

    Reply

  26. Mary @ Fit and Fed says

    Susan, I made your gribache sauce tonight and put it atop roasted asparagus from the grill. It’s excellent! I used a little less olive oil. One little thing in the directions is that you don’t mention the rice vinegar, but it was obvious to whisk it along with the olive oil. Also, technique question: do you pick the thyme leaves off the stems? I usually do because sometimes the stems can be tough, but wondered whether other people do, they are so tiny.

    Reply

    • The Wimpy Vegetarian says

      I’m so happy you tried the recipe, Mary, and glad to hear you liked it!! Thanks SO MUCH for mentioning the rice vinegar omission in the instructions. You whisk it into the cooked yolk along with the garlic, mustard and herb. The olive oil comes last only once the rice vinegar is completely mixed in for good emulsification. I’ve made that correction!! On the thyme leaves, I know a lot of people include thyme stems, but I pull off the leaves too. I pinch off the tops, turn the stems upside down and strip them down in one movement. If some stems snap easily and get included I don’t worry, but most of my stems are then discarded. Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I made it again last night for dinner and put it over some couscous and a little chopped raw bok choy for my entree and it worked great!

      Reply

  28. Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook says

    We can’t grow anything. Even keeping scallions alive in a glass of water pushes my skills. I wish you the best of luck in your gardening adventures. Next year when we move to California maybe I’ll try my hand at a little herb garden. And garlic – garlic prices here in Ohio are outrageous!

    Reply

    • The Wimpy Vegetarian says

      California is a great place to grow garlic (they say). I live about 3 hours north of Gilroy, California, the garlic capital of the world. They have a huge garlic festival every summer and serve garlic wine, garlic soup, and anything else you can imagine that’s all about garlic.

      Reply

  29. Alice Mizer says

    LOL I love the “frantically Googling” …. thats me too! 🙂 I can get some veggies to grow in some places but not others and definitely not in quantities enough for more than one, very small, person.

    Reply

  31. Barbara @ Spirited Cook says

    I am printing this off to make. I love both asparagus and eggs — I would serve this as part of a buffet, in fact, I just might for my book club next week! Also, I need to investigate Sunday Supper — I’ve met Isabel, and that’s who runs it, right?

    Reply

    • The Wimpy Vegetarian says

      Oh I hope you like it as much as we do! I make it on a regular basis right now. The other night I served it over herbed couscous and it was a wonderful entree! And yes, Isabel is who runs it. Go to any of my #SundaySupper posts (the hashtag is in the header) and at the bottom is a link to request to join! We’d love to have you in the ‘family’. It’s a very nice group of people to blog with on Sunday.

      Reply

  33. Laura says

    This post is hilariously wonderful. I live in the country and when I moved here I had grand garden plans. Yeah that lasted exactly one season of back breaking weeding (in my defense, the weeds were WAY WORSE out here in the country where the weeds had been running riot for decades). Now I use the farmer’s market lol. I do grow herbs at least.

    This is a great dish!

    Reply

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