Last week I posted a wonderful Mint Chutney recipe from Spices & Seasons, a new cookbook by Rinku Bhattacharya that I’m completely obsessed with. I have (so far!) made six different recipes from Spices & Seasons and each has rocked my world… or as I more commonly call it, my kitchen.
The recipe below (Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds) is one I made last night. I served it with Salisbury Steaks and it totally upstaged the beef and that’s not easy to do.
I didn’t have any sesame seeds on hand, so I simply left them out of the equation. Sure, they’d have looked elegant, but there’s no way they could have made the asparagus any more delicious. There are so many amazing flavors going on here that you’ll make this recipe again and again.
And again.
While the flavor is the most important thing about this recipe, I also love the fact that it’s a pretty quick recipe to put together – yet it tastes like you spent hours on the project! Don’t you just love recipes that pull that off?
Personally I prefer Tamari Soy Sauce and would use it EVEN if I could eat gluten. I use it in place of regular soy sauce in all of my recipes and, each time, I think, “This is actually better!”
A lot of cookbooks, magazines, and food blogs will categorize a recipe as “GF” (Gluten Free) when soy sauce is an ingredient. Some don’t realize that traditional soy sauce is not gluten free (after all, who’d suspect gluten to be hiding in there?!) and others simply assume that those of us who eat gluten free will automatically choose gluten free soy sauce. Either way, just a reminder – always read labels for yourself. If you’re eating gluten free (like me) for health reasons, you need to be especially cautious. Gluten is in a billion and one places you’d never expect it to be!
And now for the AMAZING recipe!
Note: For the best results, be sure to use good maple syrup instead of…. oh, I dunno… Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin!
Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds
1 tablespoon oil
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Heat the oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the asparagus and saute’ well for 1 minute. Mix in the soy sauce and cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but crisp.
- Stir in the maple syrup and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Place the asparagus on a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Tips and Tricks from Rinku Bhattacharya:
- This recipe also works well with green beans.
- One tablespoon of dried unsweetened coconut can be added instead of the sesame seeds.
- “I like to use a combination of white and green asparagus for the variation of colors, but either one would be fine on its own.”
Also See: Read my Spices & Seasons Cookbook Review!
. My “go to” cake recipe is a white cake from this wonderful cookbook. While there a lot of beautiful cake decorating templates, recipes, and ideas in the book, I use it primarily for the collection of AWESOME icing and cake recipes inside.
