I am making a recipe with Asparagus...?

I have a pasta/chicken/ asparagus recipe I want to make for dinner tonight. The recipe says to boil water, add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, then remove and cut to 2 in pieces. Is this the best way to get the asparagus cooked??? or could I steam it to make sure it gets tender?? My sister made this recipe and said her asparagus was not tender, but still kind of crunchy/firm...I am making a recipe with Asparagus...?
Depends on the size of the asparagus.... larger stalks take a bit longer than the pencil thin ones, but neither takes long.





For an average (1 lb) bunch, I would trim off the tough bottom ends of the stalks 1- 2 inches and discard them. Cut spears to desires size, toss thems with a 1Tbl olive oil 1/2 tsp salt and pinch of black pepper and cook in saute pan over medium heat for 3-4 mins, stir/toss a few times, until crisp/tender. If not done enough, add a little water to the pan 1/4 cup or so, cover and steam until desired doneness.I am making a recipe with Asparagus...?
Asparagus should be cooked with a little crunch left in it. It's such a delicate veg that if you over cook it can taste bitter. What you can do is cook in the boiling water as your sister does drain and then quickly griddle.
Whether you steam it or boil it is up to you, however when you steam the asparagus retains more of it's nutrients and to me seems a little easier to control the cooking process. If you do boil it I suggest just doing the two minutes as it will continue to cook once it is taken out of the water and by the time it makes it to the table should (if kept warm) be about perfect. You do want asparagus to be a bit crunchy trust me soggy is just not good. You spent the money for fresh asparagus you should prepare it in a way that brings out it's flavor.
It depends on whether or not you want the asparagus 'crunchy'. Your sister's right...if you steam it, it'll turn out crunchier than boiling will...but it'll also retain more of its nutrients. If you want it more tender, then boil it...but make sure it's no longer than the recommended 2 minutes or else it will be 'mushy'.
If you want to have your asparagus tender and moist you may first want to cut off the white part at the end. This white part contains lignen, a plant fiber that makes the plant very tough and strong so it can stand up strait out of the ground... like asparagus dose. If you cut this part off and then cook it, you will have less fiber in your asparagus, but more tender asparagus.





I would not boil the asparagus because if you cook it that way you will get rid of the water soluble B-vitamins that are in asparagus. Folate (vitamin B-9) is extremely high in asparagus, so you do not want to boil them. The I always just saute them for a couple minutes in a large pan with some extra virgin olive oil until they are tender. You could steam them too.... but i like to saute them.
I saute my asparagus in a pan with some olive oil it turns out really nice
A little olive oil and bake for 15 min. That's as I do it, less watery for casseroles, etc
Sure, you could steam it or just boil it a little longer until it is how you like it.
I like to cut my asparagus first. You could steam it, boil it, saute it etc....