Asparagus Recipe in Creamy Mushroom Sauce (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook asparagus so it isn't tough? ›

Set a pan of salted water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook, covered, until the spears are tender. How long this will take depends on their thickness. Medium-thin to medium spears will take about 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes, jumbos a bit longer.

It's best to let the cream sauce reduce on its own until it thickens without any cornstarch or flour. This also gives you the best and smoothest texture. But you can also dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water to add to the sauce.

Thin asparagus is great for stir fries and sautéing. Fat asparagus is good for roasting or grilling, and best when you want to serve whole spears, even simply steamed. Medium spears work in almost any cooking method.

Does asparagus get softer the longer you cook it? Yes, it does. But you don't want to cook it too long or it will be soggy. That's fine when using in a soup, but not so much as a roasted side.

One thing you definitely don't want to do is wash asparagus before storing it—the added moisture will cause the spears to get slimy. When you're ready to cook, just give them a quick rinse under cool running water and pat them dry with a kitchen towel, as Pradhan recommends.

Try roasting, sauteing, grilling and more to bring out the flavor in this crowd-pleasing vegetable. The harbinger of very early spring, asparagus stays in season through the summer. Its elegant, snappy stalks stand up well to a variety of preparations, including roasting, steaming, sautéing and grilling.

Do I need to wash the mushrooms before I cook them? Never wash mushrooms. Instead, Wipe off any dirt with a damp paper towel. You can wash them but they won't be as good in texture/color.

That's where this smart sauce comes in: It's made with three simple ingredients (heavy cream, garlic, and mushrooms), cooks in one pan, and can be whipped up in under 30 minutes. When spooned over cooked chicken, it adds tons of savory flavor and a lush creaminess.

How do you thicken cream of mushroom sauce? ›

Use Cornstarch or Arrowroot

In a separate bowl, mix a tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot with an equal amount of cold water, creating a slurry. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then slowly pour it into your soup while stirring constantly. Allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes until it thickens.

One of the simplest and most straight forward: dissolve some starch (cornstarch is common in the US; alternates include potato starch, arrowroot, or tapioca) in some water, into a smooth slurry. Add the slurry to your simmering sauce base, stirring, and let it cook for a minute or so.

Make a roux with a bit of flour to help thicken the sauce. Add milk, stir to work out any lumps of flour, and cook until thickened. Stir in some parmesan, pour your mushroom sauce over pasta/chicken/etc., and enjoy!

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Sauce Storage Instructions

Still, unfortunately, it's not recommended to be frozen as the sauce will have a high risk of splitting upon reheating from frozen as the water particles will separate from the oils and fats and break the emulsion.

"The longer you let asparagus sit, the tougher it gets," Ferretti says. "Asparagus loses moisture very quickly, the sugars within the spear begin to turn to starch, and the spear develops woody tissue if left at room temperature. In thinner asparagus spears, this happens even faster."

One simple method is to cut about 1/4 inch from the bottom of each asparagus spear and then place them in a glass of ice water. Cover the glass with a plastic bag and refrigerate for a couple of hours. The cold water will help to rehydrate it and restore its crispness.

you ever wonder why your asparagus is chewy? it's because you're eating it too far down.