Cooking green asparagus: 7 recipes for freezing or canning

In Quebec, we go nuts for green asparagus recipes ... especially when the asparagus grows directly in our fields of Sainte-Brigitte-des-Saults at Les Cultures de chez nous 😉.
Every year, we look forward to mid-May and the sunshine to savour this 100% local green vegetable in various recipes for baked asparagus, BBQ, and pan-fried asparagus.

The season is short, but we want to extend it as long as possible, so we’ve unearthed several recipes with green asparagus for you to freeze or can. So, you can enjoy their great taste until the next harvest in May next year 😊.
 

1. Whole green asparagus blanched and frozen

Yes, yes, simply blanched and frozen whole green asparagus! To blanch your green asparagus and cook them just right before freezing, plunge them into boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes (depending on their size) before dropping them into iced water to stop cooking. You’ll get beautiful, bright-green Quebec asparagus that can be stored in the freezer for 5 months. Once out of the freezer, your blanched asparagus will be handy for gratins, soups, stir-fries, and other recipes! You’ll find more recipe ideas using blanched asparagus or asparagus tips below 😉.

Many other vegetables can also be kept for a long time in the freezer once blanched. Consult our article to find out how to blanch and freeze your fruits and vegetables (in French) and cook and blanch times for the vegetables you choose.

2. Vegetable sauce for pasta

Who doesn’t love pasta? We love it so much that we’ve listed our top 30 pasta recipes 😉. Here, we suggest Jean-Philippe’s veggie spaghetti sauce for a great basic recipe. Serge has already tried it and added his personal touch. He replaced the onion with leeks and added a few tips of blanched green asparagus cooked in the pan with a bit of butter 🤤. And voilà! A vegetable sauce with a garnish of asparagus tips, perfect for all types of pasta. We suggest you make a big batch of buttery green asparagus tips. They’ll come in handy for the following recipe!

3. Cream of asparagus soup

No sooner said than done! Now’s the time to use your blanched asparagus tips in this cream of asparagus soup, which can be served immediately hot, cold or frozen for a comforting winter recipe. Here is some information for using your frozen asparagus tips: take them out of the freezer and reheat them by toasting them in a pan with a bit of butter and garlic... sublime 🤤. As chef Jean-Luc Boulay aptly says, “Butter is life!"

4. Bernardin marinated green asparagus

A classic among classics... We couldn’t resist marinating green asparagus in Bernardin’s famous Mason jars. Moreover, this recipe gives you all the information you need to make perfect marinated asparagus. From sterilizing your pickling jars to the ingredients accompanying your green asparagus to cooking times and detailed explanations of how to cook and prepare your pots, it’s all here 😊!

5. Trois fois par jour, marinated green asparagus (French only)

Try Trois fois par jour’s recipe for marinated green asparagus (French only) with crushed chilli flakes and a few black peppercorns for some spice. Cooking time: 3 minutes. Preparation time: 10 minutes. This is what we call a quick and easy green asparagus recipe! It keeps for 1 month in the fridge, but we bet you won’t be able to resist for that long 😉!

6. Green asparagus pickles from Les petits plats du Prince (French only)

It is a pleasure to bite into good pickles, especially when you’ve made them yourself! Here’s a recipe for pickled green asparagus full of flavour, with a marinade full of flavours: rosemary, bay leaf, pink berries (often mistakenly called pink pepper) and a touch of sugar. As an aperitif with cheese and cold meats, it’s sublime!

7. Green asparagus and parmesan pesto (French only)

Pesto is an all-rounder. It can be used as a spread on a crouton or sandwich, as a marinade for fish, or as a “sauce” on pasta or pizza. In Josée di Stasio’s pesto recipe (French only), it is important to blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 30 seconds, then cool it in iced water before putting it through the food processor. And if you don’t have almond sticks, no problem! You can easily replace them with sunflower seeds. Here’s another excellent way to cook green asparagus and enjoy it for months after the season ends 😊!

Before the end of the green asparagus harvest season

Until the Quebec asparagus harvest is over, we invite you to stock up on this local delicacy and prepare these 7 asparagus recipes for freezing or canning. You can also enjoy them right away by trying one of our:

• 20 best recipes for cooking asparagus
• 7 recipes for asparagus as a side dish
• Best baked asparagus recipes and BBQ asparagus recipes
• 10 must-try green asparagus recipes

We also have several other recipes with asparagus waiting for you on our website 😊. And why not? As Quebec berry season is coming, feel free to combine leeks, asparagus, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with one or more of our 9 recipes for your next Sunday brunch!