Asparagus a Cru’

A lovely French accent of shallots and tarragon. Asparagus a Cru’ is delicious served as a cold side dish with a little dab of mayonnaise or creamy salad dressing. Choose asparagus stalks with tight heads. They can be thin or thick, green or white, or a mixture.

This recipe makes two quarts.

– Recipe by Bill Hettig

Ingredients for Asparagus a Cru’:

• 2 pounds of asparagus, cleaned with the tough ends removed.
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
• 1 cup of minced shallots.
• 4 sprigs of tarragon, each having three inch stems.  Alternatively, you can use 2 pounds of dried tarragon.
• 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, either cracked or coarsely ground.
• 2 whole bay leaves.
• 2 tablespoons of Celtic Sea Salt or other premium brand for the brine.

Directions for Asparagus a Cru’:

1. Place your bay leaves into the bottom of a clean, two quart wide mouth jar.
2. Gently load remaining vegetables, intermixing tarragon and asparagus for an appealing look. Top with your minced shallots and garlic stopping two inches from jar lip.
3. Make your salt water brine solution. To do this, dissolve salt in filtered water at a ratio of 2 tablespoons of salt to 4 cups of water for this two quart batch.
4. Fill your two quart jar with this brine solution until about one inch from the jar lip.
5. Use some sort of weighty object to hold the Asparagus a Cru’ under the brine solution. Be sure to place the jar in your sink as you do this as there is sure to be spillage. We sell our brine overflow cup as a weight here: Brine “Catch” Cup – Wide Mouth
6. Remove the cup and wipe any debris on the lip of the cup and the jar, then put the cup back in. Install a Lid Gasket inside a Wide Mouth Fermenter Lid. Tighten the lid on until its snug.
7. Add tap water to a ClearView Airlock to the max line. Now gently insert the airlock into the hole of the fermenter lid until snug. Make sure not to push too deeply into the lid. As the fermentation happens, the water should move back and forth, and bubbles should move through the airlock, this is correct and indicates a tight seal.
8. Write down the date you began fermentation on the lid using a Lid Marking Pen. After 4 days, check to see if the Asparagus a Cru’ is sour enough for you. If they it is not, just add a day and re-check.

Enjoy your Asparagus a Cru’, enriched with probiotics, vitamins, and minerals that will work wonders to improve your gut health!  For even better and more delectable recipes, check out our Fermentation Recipe Booklet, where you will find many recipes, tips and tricks to brine pickling, and so much more!