Vinaigrette adds spring touch to steamed veggies

It wouldn't feel like spring without fresh asparagus. Even though the spears are imported much of the year, the arrival of fresh, U.S.-grown asparagus is cause to celebrate. We eat so much asparagus that we need a variety of preparations. Enter today's blanch-and-serve method.

Also called parboiling, blanching simply means submerging the asparagus into vigorously boiling water for about 3 minutes, then dunking the spears in a bowl of ice water to immediately stop the cooking and preserve the bright green color. (Use only the large spears. Pencil-thin asparagus won't work well with this method.)

Here's how we do it: Fill a large bowl with ice cubes, and then fill the bowl almost to the top with cold water. Bring a large soup pot with water to a boil. Snap off the tough asparagus ends, and boil until the spears are bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Finally, drain the asparagus into a large colander, taking care to avoid the steam. Immediately add the drained spears to the ice water, adding more ice cubes as necessary to keep the water cold.

The asparagus is now ready to serve as a chilled side dish, topped with today's Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette, or you can refrigerate the spears in a zipper-top bag for several days.

You can check back here next week for another one of our tried-and-true asparagus recipes, and we'd love to know your favorite ideas for serving asparagus this spring. E-mail us at tellus@KitchenScoop.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Suggested menu: Steamed Asparagus with Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette with rotisserie chicken and heat-and-serve mashed potatoes.

• Write to Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at the Desperation Dinners Web site, kitchenscoop.com.